Please Help Me
by pachirisu
Summary: "I'm getting married." Silver is engaged to be married, but finds himself with another girl. With Lyra in tow, he runs, and runs, and runs. SoulSilverShipping
1. Chapter 1

The sole heir to the Team Rocket Corporation hated parties. He was always, _always_ forced to go to them against his own will. Okay, there was always a lot of food, but being introduced to countless people he was supposed to care about at any social event he had to attend was something he hated. And of course, today was no different.

He was brought to this grand event, shoved into a suit and tie, and pushed through the crowd until he got to his seat. His father left him with a bunch of other kids while he went to socialize. This wasn't what he wanted, but this is what he got.

The other children came up to him, one by one, as if sussing him out. He was bombarded with questions from girls in floaty party dresses and boys who had somehow managed not to wear a suit.

"What age are you?"

"Eight."

"Do you have any Pokémon yet?"

"None of my own."

He didn't like these questions, but he was used to them. He knew every answer to every question he could possibly be asked. He hated those other kids, but there was nothing he could do but pretend he cared about what they were talking about. He watched the adults talk and make business deals, he watched money exchanged, and he crawled around the floor picking up dropped dollars and stealing better food off unsuspecting business men.

He was almost falling asleep by the time his father paid attention to him again. He was joined by another man, and one of the girls that was irritating him with questions earlier.

"Son, I'd like you to meet Crystal."

"Right. Hello," he offered with a scowl, only to be met with a sickly sweet smile. She obviously knew what was going on, whereas he was in the dark.

"Hello," she said in return. Her voice was breathy, and it was irritating him even with one word.

"Crystal is Petrel's daughter. I'm sure you've met both of them before." He looked past the girl and up to the man standing above her. Now he thought about it, he did know Petrel, but he was convinced he hadn't met the overbearing girl before tonight. He nodded anyway, wanting to seem polite.

"Well, I have chosen Crystal as your fiancé. You will be married when you both reach the right age." The young boy looked up at his father. Wasn't it a bit early to be thinking about marriage? He hadn't even started his journey yet, so how was he supposed to think about things like this?

"No," he stated, looking is father straight in the eye. He wasn't putting up with his family deciding his entire life before he'd even had a chance to think about it.

"No," his father repeated, "You have no choice. This is what's happening. You'll do as your told." He turned to Petrel and mouthed a thank you, before shoving his child out the door into the corridor outside.

"Go to bed. I've had enough of your insolence." He turned on his heel, walking back into the party. The boy stood still for a moment, before kicking the wall violently. He didn't care that it was hurting him, he just wanted to let all his anger out, and to him, this was the easiest way to do so.

After a minute of kicking, he slumped down the wall and onto the floor, where he lay, not wanting to drag himself off the ground. He heard the clicking of heels nearby, and immediately panicked, hoping it wasn't a party guest and he would be found.

Instead, his sister appeared at the top of the stairs, red hair flowing around her shoulders.

"What're you doing, little brother?" She enquired, taking her shoes off and running down the stairs to the sobbing mess that was her brother. When he shook is head, she just hugged him, picking the writhing ball of annoyance up and carrying him to his room.

"Do you…wanna talk about it?"

"No."

"Tomorrow then. I'll make you talk. I'll get you some of those pastries you really like and bribe you with them." As the taller girl turned to leave the room, her brother spoke up.

"I'm getting married."

"Lucky you!" The girl laughed, turning back round to face him. "I wish I was. When's the big day? Any time soon?"

"I'm serious," He whimpered, wiping his tear stained face. "Dad set me up with some girl. It's like an arranged marriage thing you always hear about on TV but I didn't think they actually happened!"

"Woah." The girl's face suddenly turned stony. "You're not gonna let him do this are you?"

"No! I hate him! You of all people should know that."

"I do, I do. I don't know what we're supposed to do about it, though. You know that here, his word is law. It's going to take something drastic to change his mind."

The red haired boy nodded his head, tiredly agreeing with her. It was a lot for him to take in; he went from eating a finger buffet to being engaged in the space of twenty minutes.

"Go to sleep. Don't think about it too much. I'm sure he'll come round."

But of course, he didn't.

* * *

><p>Four years on, Silver had left. Just, left. Taken his bag, and left. He felt as though he couldn't breathe in the place where he was. By that stage, both his sisters had left as well, done their own thing. Arianna, his eldest sister, had joined Team Rocket, like their father, and was now one of the highest ranking officers. His only other sibling, and the one he actually liked, Mars, had gone to Sinnoh, to join some space obsessed group.<p>

As for him… well, currently he was standing in the rain in New Bark Town, staring through the window of a house with three baby Pokémon in it. These Pokémon were generally given to new trainers who didn't have any other way of getting a Pokémon. There was a fire type, a water type, and a grass type, all sitting happily in a row. Silver liked the look of the water type. It looked strong, and fierce. All he had to do was sneak into the lab and take one. Easy enough.

"Um. Are you okay? Are you lost?" Silver spun around to see a girl standing with an umbrella, two pigtails standing beside her head at almost right angles, and stupid marshmallow hat.

"No. Get lost." He stalked towards the girl, and in one swift movement, pushed her over.

"You shouldn't be so rude, you know." The brunette got up off the ground, dusted herself off, and walked into the lab which he was previously looking through the window of. She was talking to the professor, selecting one of the Pokémon. She smiled at the professor as he talked to her, and left the lab. Silver shrank into the wall, praying to whatever gods were out there that she didn't notice him**.**

And she didn't. At least, not this time.

* * *

><p>Two hours later, he met up with her. Again. And they battled. And he lost, with the Pokemon he didn't mean to steal because he wanted to other one. He dropped his trainer card, and she learned his name.<p>

"Silver…"

And again, at Sprout Tower. He had just lost a battle, and had no time for her chit chat. He glared at her, and she simply smiled.

He saw her in Azalea Town when he was investigating Team Rocket. None of his family were there, and he was glad, because he probably would've punched them. And then this girl turns up and says she defeated the executive who was there and then beats him in a battle and he's just had enough. She yells after him.

"My name's Lyra, by the way!"

He glares to himself as he walks away.

She turns up again at the Burned Tower and she's staring through the floor at the legendary Pokémon. She spots him and comes running over. He challenges her to a battle, and of course he loses. He's angry, and complains loudly as he leaves the tower. He turns back to look at her and she's smirking.

He takes a break in Olivine City, and lo and behold, there she is again. He rants about the gym leader and the girl just sighs at him, rolling her eyes. She's just thankful she doesn't have to battle him.

She seems to be spending an awful lot of time chasing after Team Rocket for someone who has absolutely no connection to them. He spills his guts to her, telling her how angry he is that he can't win, and then runs off before she can answer. He's confused as to why he decided to talk to her; she's his rival, after all.

He sees her yet again in Goldenrod City, and she's trying to infiltrate the Team Rocket base. Unfortunately, he doesn't understand this, and accidentally rids her of her disguise. He calls her by her name, and she smiles.

They battle each other again less than an hour later, and as per usual, he's the one with five Pokémon unable to battle. He breaks down, and she looks kinda confused before patting his head awkwardly and leaving him in a crying heap.

The next time he sees her he's gained a tougher exterior, but is still losing battles, this time with the Kimono Girls. He watches her from outside the building as she eases through the five battles in a row. He curses under his breath and leaves the city before she knows he's watching her.

"Wait!" He yells, after running through Victory Road to catch up with her. "I challenge you!"

He loses, as he predicted, but this time he's not angry. He's not happy either, but… content. He knows what he has to do, and for once he doesn't yell at the poor girl. As she waves goodbye to him, his heart sinks. He knows she'll win the league, and then not have time to battle him.

"Good luck, Lyra."

He hears about her win from the TV at the Pokémon Centre in Cherrygrove City. He grins at the TV, and the nurse at the desk asks if he knows her. He tells her that she's the one who he wanted to beat in battle, and she smiles and shakes her head.

He travels to Kanto to train, and bumps into her again. This time, it's her that challenges him, and it's the closest battle they've ever had. He offers to heal her Pokémon afterwards, and tells her where to find him if she ever wants to battle again.

Silver spent a lot of time over the next few months training and watching TV for any mention of Lyra. She made an appearance on the TV about once a week, whether that being because she had defeated another gym leader or she'd restored power to the east of Kanto.

He retreats to Blackthorn City, training daily in the Dragon's Den. He's determined to beat that girl. He knows it will take a lot; even if his Pokémon have the upper hand, her strategies are second to none. And that Meganium- its definitely one of the strongest Pokémon in the entire region.

While in the middle of training one day, she appears, tailed by Lance and Clair. He glares at them, unsurprisingly. He challenges Lance to a battle, annoyed by the fact that he hasn't had a chance to defeat him yet. The dragon tamer suggests a tag battle; he and Lyra against Silver and Clair.

"No. I'll go with Lyra."

No one disagrees with him and they take sides to battle. He only has to use three Pokémon and Lyra only two for them to win. He's shocked, and Lyra is bouncing up and down with happiness. She hugs him, and he feels his face hating up. Lance and Clair leave the two younger trainers alone, and they talk about Kanto. Lyra wants to challenge Red, and Silver thinks she's crazy, but doesn't tell her that. She's so happy, who would want to burst her bubble?

* * *

><p>Lyra spends a lot of time in Johto over the next four years. She's lost contact with Silver, and with Ethan, and with most of her other friends. She wants to complete the Pokédex, travel the world, but a seventeen-year-old girl shouldn't do such things, according to the press.<p>

She's still the Kanto and Johto champion, but that's not enough for her. She needs to conquer other regions; Kalos, Unova, Sinnoh, Hoenn. She needs to see more Pokémon, catch more Pokémon, beat more trainers. But she doesn't want to go alone- that would be boring. But who would she go with? Not her family, not any gym leader. Lance had offered to take her Unova- he was going to see the coronation- as he called it- of the new champion. She was invited too, of course, but she wasn't really feeling up to an overseas trip with him.

She's given up on her dream of becoming a six time Pokémon champion. Alright, she was one of the youngest trainers to ever become champion of one region, never mind two, and still had at least ten years before she was told she should 'settle down'. She expected to spend the next few years in Kanto and Johto, before she sneaked off to another region to even travel around a bit. She never expected to be leaving only a few days after she planned this.

New Bark Town was small, and almost rural. It was the most easterly point of Johto, beside the sea. It was quiet, with only a few houses and Pokémon lab. It was easy enough to find, and locating someone in the town was even easier.

One breezy autumn day, a red haired boy entered the town. He was in his late teens, tall, and his hair fell just past his shoulders. He carried only a backpack, and had a Pokéball clenched tightly in his hand. He headed straight to the house in the corner of the town, the house where the pigtailed girl lived.

With one swift motion, he knocks on the door. Lyra was home alone, and jumps up to answer the door after a moment. She opens the door, and her eyes widened.

"…Silver?"

"We need to go."

"What?"

"How hard is it? We. Need. To. Go."

"Go where?"

"Olivine City. Get some stuff. This is important." She looks into his eyes, and sees him pleading with her. She sighs, and ran upstairs while he waits in the porch. She scribbles a note to her mother. _I've gone travelling again. I don't know when I'll be back, but you can call me if you want._

She grabs her bag, and stands beside Silver in the porch.

"Are you ready?" He asks, taking a step onto the ground.

"Yep."

The two walk out of the town, Silver setting the place and leading her through the grass and into the next. As they walk through Cherrygrove City, Lyra pipes up.

"Silver, why are we running?"

"We need to get away from my father."

**A/N: I haven't written anything in ages so here we go. Back into SoulSilverShipping hell. Also? If anyone is still following me from last year and cares, I'm slowly working on a sequel to Endless! Excite**


	2. Chapter 2

After hours of running, Lyra made Silver stop at a Pokémon Centre in Azalea Town. She was run off her feet, and the sun had set a good half and hour ago. She flopped down on one of the sofas, and Silver sat opposite her, his legs crossed and arms folded.

"So, are you going to tell me why we're running?" She sat up, folding her legs under her.

"No." Silver turned around slowly, taking in all the people in the Pokémon Centre. "I don't think it's safe here." His gaze landed on a man with a hat covering his eyes, staring down at a newspaper. He glanced at Lyra, who then looked quickly looked over at the man. She nodded.

"It's okay. We can move on soon if you want. Well, at least after I get something to eat." Lyra hopped up, walking to the other end of the Pokémon Centre. "Do you want anything?" She called down. Silver shook his head, and she disappeared down a set of stairs.

Silver was left alone. He kept glancing over at the man with the newspaper, who he was sure had noticed all the suspicious looks he was getting from the man. Silver took a deep breath in. There was no way he could go directly to the man and talk to him; what if he wasn't a Team Rocket member, and he got in trouble, and his location revealed because he was stupid enough to suspect everyone he saw? Silver put his head in his hand, praying for Lyra's quick return so they could leave as fast as possible.

Lyra returned a moment later, paper bag in hand, and an unusual expression on her face.

"Why do you look like that?" Silver hissed.

"Like what?" Lyra answered, barely containing a giggle.

"Like _that_." Lyra simply smiled at him, picking up her bag and straightening her hat.

"Get ready," she whispered, motioning with her head to the man with the newspaper. "I heard them talking. There's more downstairs. They're looking for you all right. I think they must have walkie talkies or something, because there was a lot of talking and whispering…" The brunette took a step away from Silver, and gave a long whistle. "Wow, it has been a long day."

Silver looked at her incredulously. Whatever she was planning, whatever Team Rocket were doing, he had no idea. He noticed out of the corner of his eye Lyra fumbling in her pocket for something. He suddenly knew what to do, and quietly took a Pokéball from his pocket. As his hand touched the Pokéball, there was a loud noise from downstairs, and a Cleffa appeared from the stairwell. It bounced across the tables happily, before landing right in front of the man with the newspaper, and swiftly swiped his hat from his head. He looked up, his cover blown.

"You know him?" Lyra asked. When she saw Silver's nod, she threw a Pokéball. "Go Azumarril! Hydro Pump!"

"Alakazam, Focus Blast."

The pair had reacted as quickly as the man from Team Rocket; he pulled out his own Pokéball and released a Koffing. Other members of Team Rocket appeared from the stairs, and Lyra's Azumarill blocked their Pokémon's attacks.

The man with the Koffing held his arm out to tell his subordinates to stop attacking.

"Well, well. If it isn't Silver. And is this Lyra. All grown up from the last time we saw you in Rocket HQ. Lovely. Well, you shouldn't be interfering, Lyra. You'll end up in a not so nice place…"

"Shut up. Stop talking like that. Alakazam, use Light Screen!" A transparent wall was immediately built between Lyra and Silver and Team Rocket. Silver grabbed Lyra's wrist as she returned Azumarill to its Pokeball, running out the automatic doors and into the middle of the town. It was dark outside. Silver was thankful for this as they could run straight to Ilex Forest and hide out for a while.

"Silver… will you please let go of my wrist? I'm pretty sure I'm bruised…" Lyra complained, and Silver immediately released his grip, turning to survey the area.

"I think we can stop here. I don't think they're going to catch up with us. You can go ahead and sleep if you want."

"What about you? Are you not going to sleep?" Lyra stifled a yawn.

"No. I'll keep watch. We can head to Goldenrod in the morning, book a room in the Pokémon center, and I can sleep then. You can… I don't know, go get supplies or something."

"Fine, fine. I'll get some sleep now. You sure you'll be okay?" Silver nodded.

She curled up against a tree, removing her hat and closing her eyes. Silver sat opposite her, glaring into the night. There was no one there, and there wasn't going to be anyone there, but he couldn't be too sure. He had to keep himself, and Lyra safe. This was all caused by his own selfishness, but…

He didn't want to put up with his father's abusiveness anymore. It disgusted him, frankly that his last resort was to _flee the country_. He couldn't just have said no. He had to run. And now he was here, he was questioning why he brought Lyra with him. He probably could be out of the region, or at least in Olivine by now. But there was no use in complaining. Lyra was the strongest trainer in the region; champion of both Johto and neighbouring Kanto. And he was sure when they got to wherever they were going, she could beat the crap out of any opponent there.

He had nothing to worry about. He looked down at the petite girl's sleeping form, smiling to himself. He was glad he had her as a friend. Although she was overbearing a large portion of the time, she was genuinely kindhearted, and would do anything for her friends, including himself. At least he didn't have to put up with her irritating friend Ethan. Now he was a pain in the ass. He was ten times worse than Lyra, in an entirely different way.

* * *

><p>Dawn came quickly, and Silver shook Lyra awake. He had booked ferry tickets on his Pokégear while she was asleep, so getting out of the country would be a breeze. All they had to do was get to Olivine in time. The ship was due out tomorrow morning, so it wouldn't be outside the realms of possibility for them to get there.<p>

"Lyra."

"Good morning, Silver." She rubbed her eyes, grabbing her bag and stretching. "Are you ready to go."

The two walked through the remainder of the forest in silence, simply listening to the bird Pokémon sing their morning song. Upon entering Goldenrod City, Silver game Lyra very strict instructions. She was to get supplies for their trip. She should phone her mom and tell her she was leaving the region for a while. She should get them both a new outfit so they would be less noticeable on the way to Olivine. She nodded the whole way through his list, insisting when he was done that he needed to sleep. He angrily agreed, and the two parted ways.

Lyra walked slowly through the city. She visited the PokéMart, purchasing food and drinks. A younger kid in the shop stopped her for her autograph, which she gladly signed, smiling to him and telling him to follow his dreams. This was standard protocol for Lyra; she said the same thing to pretty much everyone who talked to her. A visit to the clothes shop was next on her agenda. She picked out an oversized yellow jumper for herself, along with a pair of leggings and baby blue slip-ons. She ganged there in the shop after paying, taking her hair down out of its usual pigtails and leaving it loose. Stashing her signature hat in her bag, she found a butterfly hairclip in a deep pocket of her bag, sliding it into her hair.

Buying clothes for Silver was a lot harder. She had truthfully only seem him in one or two outfits before, so picking him a new one was simply out of her skills. She went with simple: A pair of black skinny jeans, a black print t-shirt and red trainers. Lyra hoped he would like it, but she honestly had no idea what he would think of it.

Trudging back to the Pokémon Centre, she woke Silver up with a poke to his exposed stomach.

"Get up." She thrust the bag of clothes towards him, causing him to grunt in disdain. "If you don't like them, don't complain. You should've gone yourself." She pouted slightly, before smiling. "You should take a shower. Do something with your hair. I'll wait for you in the National Park." She smiled, before turning on her heel and skipping out of the building. It wasn't uncharacteristic of her, but he didn't know how she could be optimistic in a situation like this. Then he remembered that he had selfishly refused to tell her what was going on. Oh well. He went to the shower room, letting the warm water wash the dirt from the forest off him. He didn't gel his hair, instead, letting it sit naturally. He ran a hand through it, unsatisfied with how he looked. The clothes Lyra had picked for him weren't too bad- I mean, she could've picked worse.

* * *

><p>"Mom?"<p>

"Yes, dear?" Her mother had picked up after the first ring, and she was glad- no international call charges for her.

"Um. I'm going to be leaving the region for a bit. I'm sorry I didn't tell you! It's kind of spontaneous. But. Yeah. I hope you're okay with it."

"Isn't it you that always tells people to follow their dreams? So do it. Follow your own advice for once, and live your life. Where are you going?"

"I'm not sure yet. But somewhere I haven't been before, so probably Hoenn or Unova."

"I'll call sometimes, okay? Good luck, sweetie."

"Thank you, mom." If she could hug her mom right now, she would.

"Oh, and Lyra? Don't let that boy do anything to you you're not comfortable with, okay?"

"Mom!" Lyra yelled, scaring off a few bug Pokémon from around her. "How did you know?" She hissed.

"Mothers know these things. Have fun, Lyra!" Her mother hung up on her, leaving her glaring at a blank screen. Unfortunately for her, Silver decided to appear just at this moment, when her face was red and she wanted to smash her Pokégear into the ground to stop her mom from calling her.

"What was that about?" He asked, one eyebrow pointedly raised. He had acquired a jacket from somewhere, and had his arms folded over his chest.

"Uh. Nothing. Just my mother. You know what she's like." Lyra stuffed her Pokégear into the front pocket of her bag, thankful he didn't press her any further.

"Let's go. We have to get through Ecruteak and down that other route before we get to Olivine. And we have to get there before the Pokémon Centre closes or we'll be sleeping on the street."

"Okay. Let's move."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: It's been so long and I hate myself for forgetting about this but hERE! I'm glad this is done. I'll be doing some art along with this,so you might want to keep and eye on my tumblr (firstladyrizahawkeye) if you're interested! Please review, and again, I'm so sorry for not updating.<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

Olivine City was silent when they finally made it. It was nine o'clock, and Lyra briefly considered that something could be wrong, but decided on mentioning it to Silver. They entered the Pokémon Centre; Nurse Joy was still on duty and gladly gave them a room. There were other trainers sitting in the lobby, which put Silver's mind at ease.

Their room was small; two beds, one by the window and one by the door, with a chair and a night table. Lyra threw her bag onto the bed, flinging herself on to it afterwards. Silver went to the window, closing the curtains after a long look outside.

"Silver?" He whipped around at the call of his name to see the brunette smiling at him. It wasn't a genuine smile though- she looked concerned, but was clearly trying to hide it the best she could.

"What?" He sat down on his bed, facing her.

"Everything will be okay," she nodded with conviction, as if she was trying to convince herself as well. "I don't really know what's going on, but… it'll be fine!" Silver stared at his knees for a moment before lifting his head, attempting to smile the best he could.

"Thank you." There was a pause, before he got up, lifting his bag in the process. I'm going to change so I can get to sleep. We're going to have to get up early tomorrow for the ferry. You better be changed by the time I get back."

Lyra nodded, and scrambled to change as soon as the door was closed. She was brushing her hair when he came back, humming quietly to herself. Not another word was said between them that evening, until the 'goodnight's they mumbled sleepily to each other. Tomorrow would be a busy day, what with the ferry and trying to avoid any more Team Rocket grunts as they escaped the country.

Silver was awake a full hour before Lyra, showering and getting dressed in the time. He wandered down to the restaurant down the street, picking up coffee for himself and the girl. Returning to the Pokémon Centre, he shook the girl awake, gently calling her name.

"Lyra." No response. "Lyra." She mumbled in her sleep, pushing herself to a sitting position very, very slowly.

"You're not a morning person, apparently."

"It's five a.m. No one is a morning person at five a.m. Apart from you, maybe."

"The ship leaves at six. I have coffee. Get up."

She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, mumbling to Silver that she hated him. Leaving the room, she padded down to the bathroom, splashing cold water over her face to wake herself up. She got dressed quickly, returning to the room to retrieve her coffee from Silver. It was almost cold; so she downed it in one go, receiving an angry look from Silver.

"Ready?"

"Let's go."

The two returned the key to the reception desk. Nurse Joy hadn't arrived yet, and so the payment was tucked under the key. The two walked quickly to the port, boarding the only ferry that was there. Silver showed the attendant their tickets on his Pokégear, and they were immediately allowed on.

Silver scouted the ship for Team Rocket members, leaving Lyra on the deck. The wind whipped her hair, leaving it in a tangled mess. Salty air got in her eyes, making them sting. Beside that, the view was beautiful. Leaving Johto waters, she could barely see the region disappearing in the distance. Silver reappeared a few minutes later, arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

"I think we're in the clear. Obviously I can't be sure, but I think we're safe for now."

"Good!" Lyra smiled a bright, genuine smile, and Silver's scowl slowly dissipated, being replaced with a look of relief. "Um… where are we going?"

"I did tell you this morning, but clearly you were too tired to pay enough attention. We're on our way to Hoenn."

"Oh. That'll be fun. Have you ever been before?"

"Once, when I was younger."

"I haven't. It'll be a new experience for me! Hey, maybe I can challenge the gyms? Then that'll give us an actual reason to be travel and we won't be asked what's going on!"

"Good idea. You do that. And obviously, I'll come with you. I don't really have any better ideas, so…"

"Good! It'll be fun travelling with you."

"Right," Silver said, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "You should come downstairs. There's a glass floor and you can see ocean through it."

The two wandered below deck, to be confronted by many, many young children and their parents. Toddlers had their faces pressed up against the glass, ogling the water type Pokémon swimming under the ship. Lyra wandered over to the glass, crouching down beside one of the children. Silver sat down on one of the chairs surrounding the perimeter of the room, smirking at the girl who seemed to be engaged in the fish.

"Hello," she said, softly, as to not scare the toddler. The boy looked up at her, eyes wide. "What's your name?"

"Oliver. I'm two!" He seemed very excited about this fact, and Lyra laughed at his enthusiasm.

"My name is Lyra! It's nice to meet you. Where are you from?"

"Aquacorde Town! We're on holiday!" Lyra didn't know where this was, but nodded anyway.

"I'm on holiday too! Hey, do you know what these Pokémon are called?" She asked, pointing at the pink fish swimming under them. With a shake of his head, Lyra answered. "They're called Gorebyss!" The young boy nodded knowingly.

"I like the fish!" He stated cheerfully, making Lyra laugh. She glanced over at Silver, who was watching them. He looked away swiftly once she made eye contact, glaring at the floor.

"It was lovely to meet you Oliver. I have to go now. Have a nice holiday!" She patted him on the head, smiling at his mother who was kneeling on the other side of him. Lyra headed towards Silver, sitting down beside him.

"Are you happy now?"

"This was your idea."

"Whatever. At least I'm not talking to random children."

"Hey!" She hit his arm gently, eyebrows knitting together. "It's part of my job to be friendly and interact with the public. I'm not about to sit with my face all screwed up, not having fun." She copied his movements; crossing her arms and her legs, and pouting.

"Hey, I do not- ugh. You're really annoying, you know that?"

"If I'm so annoying, why did you ask me to run away with you?"

"We're not-" he lowered his voice, leaning ever so slightly closer to her. "We're not running away, okay? From now on, we're on holiday together. Okay? That's what you told that boy, and that's the story we're going to stick with."

"You really don't need to be so secretive," she hissed back, glaring. She grabs his wrist, dragging him back up onto the deck.

"Let go of me. What are you doing? Lyra!"

"Why are you doing this? Why are you being so negative? I know something is up, but you won't tell me! And it's really, really frustrating! I'm trying to be helpful, to be _here_ for you, but you keep pushing me away!" She waved her hands about, stressed and angry.

"Lyra."

"No! I need an explanation. Please, Silver."

He grabbed her hand, mouthed _sorry_ and turned around. Someone was standing there, watching them. The person was wearing a long coat and a hat, which was somehow not blowing away despite the wind. She looked from Silver to the stranger, and back to Silver, before clocking what was going on. She let go of his hand, causing him to put his own in his pocket, and took a step back.

"What do you want?" Silver asked, squinting in the bright sunlight.

"Lovers quarrel?" The person asked, and the two could easily see the smirk on their face.

"Ugh, no. Why does everyone assume that- ugh, whatever."

"To answer your previous question, I am here to retrieve you before you even get away, Silver."

"I'm not leaving."

"Oh no. You are, Silver. You're coming home."

_Home?_ Lyra clocked this word in particular as the figure moved forwards, unbuttoning the coat and removing the hat. A shock of red hair appeared, and the bright red 'R' symbolizing Team Rocket was blatantly obvious on the chest of the person.

"Make this easy for us."

"Ariana. I… I don't want to go home. I never wanted to be there. You have no idea what it's like. You were always the favourite!"

"Well well. You were daddy's only boy. You were, in fact, the favourite."

"No. I don't care. I don't know how much he's told you, but I'm not going back!"

"Fine then. I'll have to take you by force."

She threw a Pokéball, yelling a command of 'Sleep Powder'. A Vileplume appeared, releasing the attack. Silver gritted his teeth- there was no way he could counter her attack. No, there was no way _he_ could, but Lyra was one step ahead of Ariana. Her Togekiss appeared elegantly in the sky, firing a well timed Air Cutter towards the enemy Pokémon.

"Ugh! Damn brat. We were told about you," Ariana yelled, pointing a finger accusingly at Lyra. "I was told by daddy that you would be the thorn in our sides. If you move away, if you go back downstairs, we won't hurt you. You're of no significance to us, _girl_." She spat the last word with particular hate. Lyra moved forwards, throwing her arm out in front of Silver.

"No. I won't let you hurt him. He's done nothing to hurt you!" Lyra called Togekiss back to her side, the bird ready to attack again.

"Lyra…" Silver started, placing a protective hand on her shoulder.

"No, Silver. You get out of here, go downstairs, look at the fish or something. I'll take care of her. I'm not going to let you get hurt!"

"You're so naïve. You honestly think I could let you get away that easily? Vileplume can attack you whenever you move!" Lyra turned her back on Ariana, looking up at Silver, her eyes begging him to leave.

"Go."

"Thank you."

He moved half an inch to the left, and Lyra threw another Pokéball, releasing a Magmortar. Silver didn't even know she had such a Pokémon, but when she yelled 'Smokescreen', he understood exactly why she had brought it with her. He dashed through the door leading to downstairs, disappearing down the stairs and into the fish room. The smoke cleared quickly, and Lyra found herself face to face with Ariana.

"Give it up. I'm the strongest trainer in Johto; there's no way you'll be able to beat me."

"Cocky, are we? Vileplume, go. Attack!"

Lyra rolled her eyes, commanding Togekiss to attack the quickly approaching Pokémon. With a slight hand movement, she commanded Magmortar to attack the woman who was battling them with a Flamethrower attack. She wasn't particularly fond of attacking people, but this was different. She had to protect Silver- he was trying to escape, and she couldn't let him be kidnapped when they hadn't even got away.

The woman was hit full on with the attack- she was unsuspecting, which made it even easier to knock her out. Lyra dragged the body to the edge of the boat, checking that she was still alive before pushing her into the water, and sending Vileplume in after her. Hopefully the Pokémon would save her, and Lyra wouldn't be charged with murder.

The teenager sent her Pokémon back to their Pokéballs, sauntering downstairs to meet up with Silver. Faces turned to look in her direction as soon as she entered the room- clearly, they had heard the ruckus from the deck.

"Well?" Silver ran towards her, stopping just in front of her.

"I dealt with her," Lyra answered nonchalantly.

"What did you do?"

"I… um… I threw her into the ocean." Lyra answered quicker than she had ever spoken before, stringing her words together so it sounded like one word.

"Wow. I didn't even know you were capable of that."

"Yeah. I'm really capable," she said, back to her joking self. "Can we get breakfast? I'm really hungry now."

"Sure." They headed out of the room, slowly wandering down to the cafeteria.

"Oh, and Lyra?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I've had a resurgance of Pokemon feelings so expect maybe a couple of ContestShipping things? Maybe IkariShipping? I'm emotional, so if you have any requests please do ask! And don't forget to review this!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

The ship pulled into Slateport City harbour two days after the Ariana incident. The rest of the journey proceeded without incident, which both Lyra and Silver were pleased about. Getting of the ferry, they were pleasantly surprised about the temperature of the Hoenn region. It was expected to be warm- at least, warmer than Johto, but this was different than they expected. The sun was beating down on the cobbled pavement, making it almost difficult to stand on the ground.

"What now?" Lyra asked, stretching her legs.

"I'm not sure. Didn't you say you wanted to challenge the league overe here?" Silver responded. Lyra nodded.

"But only if you're okay with it. I won't do it unless you're comfortable with it."

"It's fine. I know you want to become champion of another region. And it wouldn't surprise me if you manage it."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence, Silver. We should head over to the Pokémon Centre then. I'm sure I'll be able to sign up there…"

The two headed off, out of the port area and into the town centre. Slateport City wasn't huge, with a market taking up more than half of the town. While they were looking for the Pokémon Centre, Lyra spotted a Contest hall, and made a mental note that she would have to go and watch a contest while she was in Hoenn. It took them a while to find the Pokémon Centre; Silver wouldn't ask for directions, and Lyra got distracted by every little thing.

When they did eventually find it, the process of registering for the League was fairly simple. Nurse Joy requested Lyra's Pokémon Trainer card, scanning it into the computer. She raised her eyebrows when she saw the extensive list of achievements on Lyra's profile- her sixteen gym badges and two championship titles, among other minor things that she didn't really think about. Nurse Joy handed the card back to Lyra with a smile.

"There. You're all registered! I assume I don't need to explain the League's rules to you, since you've already done two?"

"I don't think so!" Lyra laughed. "I don't think anything is different in Hoenn, so we'll be okay. Can I ask where the nearest gym is? I don't think I saw one when we were on our way here…"

"Mauville City, to the North of here. The Gym Leader is Wattson, I'm sure he'd be more than happy to accept your challenge!"

"Thank you, Nurse Joy!"

Lyra left the Pokémon Centre to meet up with Silver, who had decided to wait outside. She smiled brightly, proclaiming that she was all registered and now they could leave. Silver rolled his eyes.

"I don't even know why you have to register anyway. I challenged Gym Leaders and got gym badges without registering at all."

"You can get badges and stuff- they don't ask for your pass in gyms. But when it comes to actually challenging the Elite Four, they ask for it, along with all your gym badges. They need it for recording you in the Hall of Fame," Lyra explained. "I only learned this after I became the Champion," she added as an afterthought.

"Why do you want to challenge the League over here anyway? You have two League titles already. Maybe you should let someone else be the Champion for once."

"I'm going for world domination, Silver," Lyra deadpanned. Seeing Silver's disgusted expression, she changed her answer to a more truthful, serious one. "I want it to look like our trip isn't you just running away and dragging you with me- which it is, by the way. If I challenge all the gyms, then it'll look like I'm over to do exactly what I _am_ doing, and I've dragged you with me. Honestly, it'll work. Trust me."

"Right." Silver sounded less than trusting of her, but decided it was easier to go along with her plan that counter it. "It's still pretty early in the day. We should leave and go to wherever it is we're going. We might be able to get to civilization before the end of the day."

"Mauville City is apparently where the nearest gym is. Shall we head that way, then?" Lyra asked. With a simple nod from Silver, she pulled a map she had taken from the port. She pointed at the city, and they figured out the best way to it from their current position.

OAUEFGUFJKDoivf

The route to Mauville was a lot different from any paths either of the trainers had traversed in Johto or Kanto. It was quiet, with a lot of grassy areas and a large lake in the centre. The cycling path scraped the azure sky, but neither Lyra nor Silver had a bike, so they chose the quieter route under it.

"So," Lyra started, with a very pointed look at Silver.

"So?"

"Are you ever going to tell me why you left the region? I mean, you pretty much forced me to leave my home, and…"

"You didn't seem to mind," Silver pointed out, causing Lyra to flush.

"It's because I _care_ about you, Silver." He huffed in response, turning his head away from her, and sticking his hands in his pockets.

"Five minutes, okay? Wait until we're further out from the city. Let me gather my thoughts."

Lyra nodded silently, and they continued along the route for another five minutes. They managed to cover a good bit of ground in this time, so much so that the city could just be seen in the distance. They still had a fair bit to go, but the two trainers decided to stop by the lake to talk. They sat by the shore, Lyra with her legs tucked under her, and Silver with his drawn to his chest. Lyra didn't say anything- waiting until Silver felt comfortable to talk.

'You know who my father is, right?" Lyra was unsure how to answer this, but decided being truthful was the best option. She nodded. "Well, he and his 'business partners' are really into making deals without consulting anyone else. Sometimes its just gambling, which I can get over, but sometimes it's a lot worse than that. Like…" He paused. Lyra took her gaze off him, staring out over the lake.

"When I was eight, I met this girl. Her name was Crystal, and not gonna lie, she was an ass. I hated her from the moment she spoke to me. Then, at the end of the party that we met at, we were formally introduced. Turns out she was the daughter of one of my dad's friends. He announced that we were… to be married. As in, from the age of eight, I was engaged to this girl I didn't know." He finished his story with a shrug, staring down into the water.

"Is that it? That doesn't really explain why you left…" Lyra questioned, still not meeting his eyes. "And besides… you could've gotten along. You might've even loved her!"

"Nah," Silver huffed, exhaling loudly. "It wasn't just that. It was an act of defiance, partly. I ran away because I didn't want to marry her. I didn't want to have to conform to my father's ridiculous standards. And why me? Why not my sisters-"

"You have sisters?"

"Yes, Lyra. Two," he stated, exasperated. He then realised he hadn't told her about them before. "One of them is called Mars. I actually liked her, but she left before I went on my journey. The other…"

"Is Ariana."

"How did you know?" Silver asked bitterly.

"When she said you were going 'home'. And you have the same hair, practically," Lyra pointed out.

"Whatever. Ariana went into Team Rocket, as you know, and Mars joined some other team based in Sinnoh. She didn't want anything to do with Giovanni either. As for Crystal, I haven't seen her in years. We're here because they found me. They tracked me down to the Dragon's Den, and told me I had to be home in a month." He sighed, resting his head on his knees. "They told me that I would be getting married. Now that both me and Crystal are eighteen, they want to get us out of the road as soon as possible. And I would never get married to her. I couldn't marry someone I didn't love."

Lyra nodded knowingly, placing a hand on Silver's shoulder to comfort him. He looked up, attempting a smile.

"Thank you for listening, Lyra. We should get going, though."

The two trainers grabbed their bags, Lyra again not saying anything while they headed towards the city looming in the distance. She knew that there was more to Silver's story than what he was willing to divulge today, but she wasn't too worried. She now understood why he had dragged her all the way to Hoenn. No one knew who he was over here, and he could do a pretty effective job of hiding from other Team Rocket officials.

They entered the large city of Mauville at a little after five p.m. Lyra was all ready to get her gym badge, but Silver wasn't in the mood to go.

"Come _on_, Silver. You don't even have to do anything, just sit there. I doubt they'll even want to talk to you. You can just be my moral support."

"You really think I'm good at moral support?" Silver asked, his voice taking on a skeptical tone.

"Yes. Now, let's go." Lyra started walking, knowing that if she left, Silver would quickly follow. He rolled his eyes before doing exactly what she had predicted.

"What Pokémon are you using for the battle anyway?"

"I think this gym uses electric type Pokémon, so I have Meganium, Dugtrio, and Magmortar."

"Only one of those is a ground type," Silver pointed out, almost sneering.

"Yeah, but the other two are incredibly strong, so I'm hoping to take this gym with Meganium alone. She's the best Pokémon I have, and I'm going to start strong in Hoenn!"

Silver couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm as she checked the city map, locating the Gym. She dragged him through the main plaza and out the other side, where the gym was situated. The automatic doors slid open easily for them, and she strode into the gym with an air of confidence she hadn't had when challenging her first gyms in either Kanto or Johto.

"I'm here to challenge the gym leader," Lyra told the man at the door.

"You'll be the last trainer for today, then. Go on ahead. Wattson will be waiting for you at the end. What about you, son? Are you okay with coming back tomorrow?"

"O-oh, I'm not um.." Silver stumbled, not mentally ready for the question. He was half hoping that the man wouldn't notice him.

"He's not challenging the gym," Lyra explained, thanking the man before heading into the puzzle area.

She surveyed the area before fully stepping onto the gym floor. Since it was quite late in the day, most of the gym trainers had gone home, apart from one that was talking to who she presumed was Wattson at the end of the gym. She could see the battlefield, and there was adequate seating around the outside of it.

Concentrating again on the puzzle, she assumed she had to simply stand on the switches presented to her. Lyra gingerly stepped on one, which immediately turned off one of the barriers and turned on another. Understanding what was going on, she stepped on all the switches in sequence, ending up at the battlefield in record time.

"Hello, Wattson," She said, clearing her throat. Silver slipped past her, into the seats surrounding the perimeter of the field. The gym trainer he had been speaking to took that as his cue to leave, sitting down on the seats opposite Silver.

"Hello! Are you here to challenge me?"

"Yep!" Lyra drew a Pokéball from her pocket, turning it over in her fingers.

"Well, we'll waste no time, then! Ready?" He asked the referee, who jumped in position.

"This match between Wattson, the Mauville City Gym Leader, and…?" He stopped, not knowing who the challenger was.

"Lyra, from New Bark Town," she finished.

"This match between Wattson, the Mauville City Gym Leader, and Lyra, from New Bark Town, will begin now! Each trainer will use three Pokémon each, and the battle will be over when all the Pokémon from one trainer are unable to battle! Begin!"

Wattson sent out his Manectric, and Lyra sent out Meganium. The battle only lasted a few minutes, with Lyra taking out of all Wattson's Pokémon in one hit. The veteran Gym leader stood in shock as he returned his last Pokémon to it's ball.

"Well, that was certainly impressive. You're certainly a strong trainer, Lyra."

"Thank you," Lyra replied, returning her unharmed Meganium to it's Pokéball.

"Here is the Dynamo Badge. You deserve it, without a doubt." Lyra graciously took the badge off him, setting it in her case in the third spot.

"Wait… is this your first gym badge?" Wattson asked, staring at the almost empty case.

"Uh…" Lyra didn't know how to answer this. In a way, it was, and again, it wasn't. "Yes," she decided, closing the badge case and returning it to her bag.

"Impressive. I wish you luck on your journey." Lyra smiled a thank you, signaling to Silver it was time to leave.

When they were outside of the gym, Silver confronted her.

"Why did you lie? That wasn't your first gym badge. That's your… what, seventeenth?"

"Yep. I'm making a new name for myself here. I can't just say I have sixteen gym badges and I'm the champion of two regions."

Silver rolled his eyes. "Typical."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the late update! I hope you enjoy. Please review! <strong>


	5. Chapter 5

"Great job," Silver quipped, throwing a newspaper onto Lyra's bed, "You made front page." Lyra finished tying her pigtails up before turning to pick up the paper. On the cover, her smiling face was plastered, along with the headline.

"'Mystery Trainer Whips Wattson Into Shape'? I just beat him in a Pokémon battle. Nothing special." She set the paper down with a sigh, adjusting her hair in the mirror again.

"Lyra, you took down all his Pokémon in one hit each, and your Meganium didn't take any damage. This kinda is a big deal, especially when the Mauville Gym is generally the third or fourth one challenged by beginner trainers."

"What I want to know is how they found out. I thought we were doing a good job of being secretive." The brunette shrugged, folding her pyjamas up and stuffing them into her bag. "Maybe it was the gym trainer? He didn't seem happy that we came in so late in the day."

"I think you're over thinking this. Whatever happened, you're on the cover of every newspaper in Hoenn, and everyone knows we're here!" Silver sunk down onto the bed, waiting for Lyra to finish packing up her belongings. "I knew this was a bad idea."

"Nope! That's where you're wrong. This was a brilliant idea." Lyra lifted her bag, opening the curtains with a flourish.

"How is having news articles written about you and published in every trainer's newspaper a good thing?"

"Because they know I'm here." She said this sentence with a particular emphasis on the 'I'm', causing Silver to lift his head. "You said they know we're here. They don't. Yes, everyone knows I'm here, but once someone figures out I'm the Indigo League Champion, no one will care about you. You'll blend into the background. And even if Team Rocket is following obscure Hoenn newspapers, they probably will assume we've split up from each other. All you," She poked him in the chest, "have to do is avoid cameras. And I know for a fact that that is something you're particularly good at."

"You know, I think you're a lot smarter than I give you credit for," Silver laughed, affectionately ruffling Lyra's hair. "Let's get going."

Unfortunately, Lyra's plan was foiled as soon as the two trainers left the Pokémon Centre. A horde of reporters had gathered outside, cameras ad microphones at the ready. Lyra paled, quickly shoving Silver back inside the Pokémon Centre with a mouthed 'round the back'. A reporter sprinted up to Lyra, shoving a microphone in her face.

"Miss, you've taken the Hoenn Pokémon League by storm with yesterday's performance in the Mauville Gym. Can you tell us where you got such a powerful Meganium? These Pokémon are not native to this region and we've all been left wondering!"

"Um… Well… I've had Meganium for a while… it's been raised since she was a Chikorita, and…" Lyra drifted off. Even as a Champion, public speaking had never been her strong point, but she had put on a brave face and stared crowds straight in the face. However, a large crowd like this that was a complete surprise threw her off- she was practically paralysed with fear.

"I don't think she wants to answer any more questions," a gruff voice came from behind Lyra.

"And who is this?" The reporter asked.

"Well…"

"I said, no more questions!" Silver, who was standing up straight for once, grabbed Lyra's hand, pulling her through the crowd and throwing his Crobat's Pokéball. The bat Pokémon came out immediately, and Silver, still holding Lyra's hand, grabbed a hold. "Fly."

Lyra could see the flashes of cameras from the journalists, and mentally cursed herself or being so stupid. Of course they were going to have found where they were staying, and of course they would be waiting for her when she came out. This wasn't the first time she'd had an unfortunate time with reporters- when she had won her eighth Johto Badge, she had a ton of reporters waiting to ask her questions, and she had no one with her to defend her.

"I'm really sorry, Silver."

"Don't worry about it."

"Well, I am! I told you we'd be okay, and as soon as I walk outside, that happened! I hate how this turned out!"

"Lyra."

"News reporters are always like this. They have no care for other people! If they knew I was the champion, they probably wouldn't treat me this way!"

"Lyra." Silver gently guided Crobat to an open patch of ground just outside the city.

"This is al my fault. I could've used weaker Pokémon, or just not challenged the gyms at all! I'm just selfish, that's all it is." They landed safely, and Lyra continued blabbering. "I go us into that mess, and you got us out, even after I said that you could just avoid cameras and reporters and I'd take the fall for you, and-"

"Lyra!" Her eyes shot straight up to meet his, before falling back to the ground.

"Sorry."

"I told you, it's okay. We'll be okay. It was one picture, and I doubt it was particularly good. It's hard to capture moving objects on camera."

"You're right," Lyra sighed, "there's no point dwelling on it. We should move on. Where's next?"

"I looked it up, and we're probably closest to Lavaridge Town. It'll still be a bit of a walk, and we'll have to go through Mauville again. But if you're not comfortable, we can totally go somewhere else." Silver pointed on the map, and Lyra nodded enthusiastically.

* * *

><p>They arrived in Lavaridge Town that evening, both of them weary from the journey. Lyra flopped down on one of the Pokémon Centre's sofas, taking her shoes off and setting her feet gingerly on the table. Silver booked a room from Nurse Joy, collecting the key and joining Lyra on the sofas.<p>

"I don't think I've ever walked further in my life," Lyra complained, stretching out over the back of the seat.

"It wasn't that far. And a lot of it was downhill," Silver pointed out, causing Lyra to pout in annoyance.

"Well, I liked to take a lot of breaks on my journey. So I never walked that far."

"If I hadn't made you keep walking, we would've been camping outside."

Lyra was silent for a moment before she spoke again. "I guess," she conceded.

"It's pretty late. We should go to sleep soon."

"Yeah. I've got a gym battle tomorrow, after all!" Lyra lifted her feet off the table, standing up. "Do you know anything about this gym leader?"

"I'll tell you when we get back to the room. This might take a bit more planning than Mauville did."

Lyra flopped down onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. Silver walked over to the bed opposite, perching on the end. He searched through his bag, brining out a small red book.

"I got this in the Pokémon Centre in Slateport City while you were registering. It's a guide to the Pokémon League of Hoenn. Since you're the one battling, I thought the least I could do would be to help you out." Lyra sat up straight, crossing her legs under her.

"Silver, that's so… thoughtful!"

"Yeah, okay. Well anyway. Lavaridge's gym leader is a girl called Flannery. She uses fire type Pokémon, so your Meganium might have to sit out this time."

"Oh."

"But, it also says here what her strategies are. She relies heavily on Overheat, which lowers Special Attack after doing massive damage. It itself is also a Special Attack, so I think you might want a water Pokémon with high Speed and Special Defense stats."

"I don't have any water Pokémon that have that. But I do have Togekiss, and she knows Water Pulse, so we'll be fine.'

"What about your other Pokémon? You need two more."

"I'll just bring Dugtrio and Azumarill. They'll do okay," Lyra shrugged, "and besides, I do kinda want to do the same thing as in the Mauville Gym. That's like… my new reputation."

"Do what you want. I'm not gonna stop you. Just… don't over do it with the one hit wonder thing. It might not work after a while. The gym Leaders will be expecting you to do that, and will use more defensive Pokémon."

"They might, or they might expect me to change my style for that but keep their strategy the same. Silver, I know this won't work the entire time, but it'll work for now. They have a different style of battling here in Hoenn, and I'm using this technique to figure out how it works."

"Don't come crying to me when your plan backfires."

"I would never come crying to you! And besides, I thought you were trying to help me."

"Well, I was, but it seems you're not really willing to listen to my advice!" Silver got to his feet, towering over Lyra who was still sitting on the bed. She sprung up, landing lightly on the carpeted floor.

"I _am _listening to you! I'm just saying, not everything is the same here in Hoenn!"

"And I'm saying that you need to stick to what you know best!"

"Ugh, you're insufferable!" Lyra turned on her heel, storming out of the room. "I'm going for a walk!" She slammed the door behind her, leaving Silver standing in the middle of the room.

* * *

><p>It was completely dark when Lyra made it outside, walking at a particularly fast pace despite her earlier complaints about her feet being sore. She wandered to the edge of town, and when she reached the wall, slid down it, curling up at the bottom. She took her Pokégear out of her pocket, pressing the power to on. She hadn't turned it on since they had arrived in Hoenn, and mentally cursed herself for not doing so when she saw the sixteen missed calls from her parents, from Ethan, and from Lance. Most recently though, was a text from Silver. <em>Come back.<em> It was sent less than a minute ago, and Lyra kicked herself for letting her temper get the better of her. Annoyed at Silver, and at everyone back in Johto, and at herself, she dragged herself back to the Pokémon Centre- very, _very_ slowly.

When Lyra entered the room, she saw Silver standing in the middle of the room, exactly where he was when she left. Sure, she had only been gone a few minutes, but he hadn't moved an inch. He moved towards her, almost warily, and she stayed rooted to her spot, silently closing the door behind her.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let my temper get the better of me."

"I'm sorry too. I need to be more careful with my words. You're the battling expert here."

"I really appreciate your help though. I probably would've marched right into the gym and used Meganium as my main and run into some problems." Lyra stared down at her shoes for a second, before holding her arms out to Silver. "Come here."

"What?"

"I'm going to hug you, idiot." Silver unwillingly moved towards Lyra who wrapped her arms around his back. He took a while to respond, but eventually enveloped her in his arms.

As per Silver's recommendation, Lyra used Togekiss first in her battle against Flannery. The battle itself was short lived- she managed to take out all three of the gym leader's Pokémon with one shot each. This prompted a barrage of questions from Flannery, who was no stranger to local gossip.

"So, you're the trainer that beat Wattson really easily! You've been all over the covers of all the trainer magazines."

"Uh, yeah! That's me," Lyra confirmed sheepishly, returning Togekiss to her Pokéball.

"You had better look out. We had an emergency gym leader's conference yesterday, just for you."

"What? Why?"

"Because frankly, the gym leaders are scared of you. Wattson's no pushover, but you managed to defeat him easily. And you've done the same here. Once BuzzNav catches word of this, you'll be on their channel too. I'm just saying," Flannery warned with a shrug, "the other gyms might be harder to beat."

As the pair left the Lavaridge Gym, Silver elbowed Lyra in the ribs.

"What did I tell you?"

"Shut up."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I had to rewrite this chapter because I felt I had moved the plot on too quickly, and that is why this update is a bit late! thank you for reading, and please leave a review!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

"Where next? You've got the map," Lyra asked, stretching out after a night of sleeping curled up.

"I think we'll have to keep walking north unless you want to head back through Mauville. There's a town called Fallarbor we can stop off in."

"No. I can deal with Mauville. I'm mentally prepared this time. And anyway, if we're just passing through, we can like. Jog, or something."

"You really expect me to _jog_ through Mauville City?" Silver deadpanned, tracing the route on the map with his finger.

"Yes, I do. We'll buy sunglasses or something. It'll be sweet.'

"Fine. But do something different with your hair. Your pigtails are what make you regonisable."

The pair quickly left Lavaridge Town, Lyra tackling her hair into a messy bun while walking. They squeezed into the cable car with a group of other tourists, a lot of which wanted pictures with Lyra, showing her copies of todays newspapers.

"I didn't think anyone would've heard about yesterday's battle," Lyra hissed to Silver.

"Neither did I. I haven't seen any papers today," Silver whispered back.

The cable car landed in the station with a bump, and the trainers practically sprinted off it and into the open.

"Mauville might be a problem," Silver stated, folding his arms and raising his eyebrows.

"We could trying flying over it, and walking from outside?"

"Your ideas never work, Lyra."

"This one might, though!"

"If it doesn't, I will punch you."

"Fine! It will though," Lyra said, calling out her Togekiss, and motioning to Silver to call out Crobat.

The two Pokémon rose from the ground and into the clouds, carrying their trainers on their backs. They passed over the city of Mauville, which looked ten times larger from the sky, and slowly descended just below the Cycling Road to the south of the city. Lyra returned Togekiss to it's Pokéball, put her hands in her pockets and smirked triumphantly at Silver.

"Well?"

"Yeah. That was a good idea," Silver admitted.

"Let's just go. Where is the nearest gym?"

"It's a while to either. We'll probably have to camp out. But anyway, either Rustboro or… Petalburg. I think it would be easier to go to Rustboro first though."

"Rustboro it is then!"

* * *

><p>The road to Rustboro was long, with a stop in Verdanturf Town. Silver estimated they would be able to make it to this town in the middle by nightfall if everything went to plan. Thankfully, the route was pretty, and Lyra spent the entire day admiring the tiny plants that grew by the path, and dragging Silver over for breaks beside the water.<p>

"Why are you doing this, Lyra?"

"Because unlike you, I like to have fun."

"I do like to have fun. Just not in the same way you do. I'm not amused by baby plants or water. It's not like I've never seen them before."

"Fine, let's go," Lyra sighed, standing up and brushing herself off. "The quicker we get to Verdanturf the better."

"Hey, Lyra, I didn't mean-"

"Yes, you did. Let's just go, Silver."

The redhead sighed, defeated, and followed Lyra further down the path. It turned out that Verdanturf was shorter than Silver had originally estimated, and they arrived there after not too long.

The town was just as serene as the route they had previously been walking on. A gentle breeze blew through the town; ruffling the grass and making the flowers sway in the breeze. White picket fences separated the houses, and Lyra noted that there was another Contest Hall in the town. Silver noticed Lyra's infatuated stare at the building.

"You're not entering a contest. We don't have time."

"I wasn't going to. But I was hoping we could watch one!"

"Lyra, honestly, we don't have the time."

"Fine. I heard there's one in Lilycove City too, so I guess we can watch one there instead."

"I guess. Anyway, we should get into the Pokémon Centre. It's getting late."

"Silver, it's five o'clock."

"I know, but if we leave it any later, it'll be all booked up."

Silver practically had to drag Lyra into the Pokémon Centre and up to the counter. Nurse Joy greeted them with an amused smile on her face.

"Good afternoon! How can I help you?"

"One room please. Two beds."

"Sure! Here's your key." Silver pocketed the key, mumbling a thank you to Nurse Joy. He and Lyra trudged up the stairs, Lyra trailing her bag along behind her. They got to the room, each of them claiming a bed, and sat in silence for the next few minutes. Lyra tucked her legs under her and turned to Silver, breaking the silence.

"What type does the Rustboro gym leader use?" Silver didn't answer for a moment, fumbling in his bag for the guide book he had taken.

"Rock. It says here she uses a mainly offensive style, and relies heavily on the use of Nosepass and Geodude."

"That should be fine! Azumarill and Meganium will take care of them, easy peasy!"

"Don't forget what Flannery said. The Gym Leaders are well aware of you, now. They will adjust their teams accordingly, and perhaps even their style. I wouldn't count out Roxanne just yet." Lyra nodded solemnly.

"I'm going to train outside. Are you coming?" She asked, heading towards the door.

"Sure."

The two trainers headed downstairs, and out the back of the Pokémon Centre, where a dirt battlefield was marked out. Lyra took a position at one end, stretching towards her toes. Silver instinctively stood at the other end, and didn't even notice until Lyra pointed it out.

"You want to battle?"

"Uh. Yeah," he said, trying to mask his mistake with confidence. "It's been a while, so why not?"

"Okay. One on One? I'm kinda hungry, so the quicker this is over the better."

"Sure."

"Okay then, Ampharos, go!"

"Alakazam, you're up."

The two yellow hued Pokémon squared off against each other, glaring at each other from opposite ends of the field.

"Your move, Silver!" Truth be told, Silver was scared. He hadn't battled against Lyra in a _long_ time, and he wasn't sure his Pokémon were even slightly a match for her. He had seen her battles recently, of course, and based on her performance in those, he had himself convinced that his Pokémon would go down in one hit, just like the Pokémon on the other side had.

"Alright. Um, Alakazam, use Telekinesis!" Ampharos started to float centimetres above the ground, causing the Pokémon to scowl.

"Use Thunder! We'll beat it right away!"

"Dodge, Alakazam," Silver commanded with a flick of his wrist, and the Pokémon stepped aside, letting the Thunder attack hit the ground beside it. "Now, Focus Blast! You can't dodge this one, Lyra, because of Telekinesis!" The pulse of energy hit Ampharos square on, causing the Pokémon to slide back a few feet.

"Are you okay, Ampharos?" Lyra asked, concern evident in her voice. But the Pokémon got up, shaking its head and answering Lyra with a bleat.

"How much HP does that thing have?" Silver asked. "That should've knocked it out!"

"It has more HP than your Alakazam, for a start. Let's go, Ampharos, Discharge!" The Light Pokémon let out a huge electrical impulse, damaging Alakazam and paralyzing it.

"Get up, Alakazam. Use Psychic!" The Psi Pokémon didn't move from it's position, causing Silver to clench his fists.

"Alright, Ampharos, finish it with Power Gem!" The sparkling rocks floated towards Alakazam, dealing a great amount of damage and causing the Pokémon to faint.

"Damn it… Alakazam, return." Silver returned the Pokémon to it's Pokéball, pocketing it.

"Good job as usual, Ampharos! Have a good rest!" Lyra returned her Pokémon too, before walking over to Silver. They sat down on the bench that was near his end of the battlefield, Lyra stretching her legs out in front of her. "That was a good battle! You've definitely been training a lot. That Telekinesis into Focus Blast thing was really good."

"Thanks. I'm still no match for you, though."

"That's because I'm the Champion," Lyra said playfully, digging Silver in the ribs.

"I know you are. And you're probably the best battler I know," Silver admitted, a smile growing on his face.

"Thank you, Silver. It's really nice to hear that from my rival."

"We're barely even Rivals anymore. This is our first battle, in what… four years?"

"Probably. But I think that's probably for the best, right? I mean… we're friends now! And we never could've been before."

"Right," Silver said, staring down at the ground. "Lyra, there's something-"

"Excuse me!" A voice called, snapping Lyra and Silver out of their bubble. "There's an incoming call for you, Silver. Do you want to take it?" Silver shot a concerned look at Lyra, who nodded. He got up, scurrying into the Pokémon Centre.

"The phone's right over this way." Nurse Joy guided Silver towards the videophone. A horrible feeling settled in his stomach, but he pushed all panicky thoughts aside.

* * *

><p>"Hello?" He couldn't see much, apart from the metallic walls of a building. It didn't look like home, or Team Rocket HQ, and that eased his mind a little.<p>

"Hey, little brother! You were taking an absolute ago to come to the phone, so I made myself some tea." A redhead popped up on the screen, smiling brightly at Silver. She was wearing some kind of silver uniform, with a yellow 'G' emblazoned on the middle.

"_Mars?_" Silver asked incredulously.

"The very one! Do you know how hard it was to track you down? I had to phone practically every Pokémon Centre in Hoenn before I found you."

"What do you want?"

"I want to help you. Offer my services. I've heard about your… predicament. You're running away from dad. And I would do the same. But better, because I've always been smarter than you, little brother."

"Whatever. Get to the point."

"You're travelling with that Lyra girl, right?"

"Yes." Silver's face fell- he didn't want to involve Lyra in one of Mars's elaborate plans.

"Well, marry her! You can get married in Hoenn, and then dad can't force you to get married to Crystal, problem solved."

"Ah yes, we'll solve the problem of 'I don't want to get married at eighteen' with getting married at eighteen! Yes, Mars, you always have been smarter than me. Your plans are flawless, as usual."

"It was just a suggestion," Mars huffed. "If you don't want my help, then don't request it in the first place!"

"What are you talking about? I didn't request your help."

"You didn't? I got a call from Ariana telling me you're in a sticky situation and you wanted my help, but you didn't know where I was."

"Ariana is working for dad, Mars. Ugh, I can't believe you could be this stupid! They're tracing this call, they know where I am! Team Rocket is going to be on it's way here, and it's all your fault!" Silver's voice began to raise, and Lyra, who had been standing outside in case there was trouble, burst into the room.

"Is everything okay, Silver?"

"No! This idiot of a sister is practically broadcasting our location to Team Rocket!"

"Well, I didn't mean to. You never know, this could work out in your favour, Silver," Mars interjected with a shrug.

"Are you an idiot?! This will work out terribly! They're on their way, and I have no idea what to do! And this is your fault! I'm going to be forced back to Kanto!"

"Well, I apologise. I'll leave you alone. Clearly you've become smarter than me these past few years, little brother. Good luck!" Mars hung up, leaving the videophone's screen blank. Silver started pacing around the room, picking up speed with every step.

"What are we going to do? We can't stay here overnight, but it'll be hard to leave in case we bump into them!"

"Disguises?"

"That's hardly going to work, Lyra!" Silver sighed, exasperatedly. "Usually I would be all for disguises, but this is my own family we're talking about. They'll recognise me immediately." He was still walking, but Lyra stopped him with a simple hand on his arm.

"I have an idea. Sit down here, and stay calm. Deep breaths, okay?" He nodded, seating himself on the seat and burying his face in his hands. "I'll be back in a minute. Don't worry, okay?"

Lyra practically sprinted upstairs and into the room they were staying in. She grabbed her bag, pulling out long black socks, pumps, a black skirt and black t-shirt with long sleeves. She looted Silver's bag as well, finding a black button down shirt and black jeans. She found red tape in her first aid kit, initially intended for sticking bandages together. She fashioned red 'R' shapes out of the tape, sticking them on the pocket of Silver's shirt and across the chest of her top. She bundled the items together, carrying them over her arm downstairs, leaving her signature hat behind. The brunette scampered down to the reception.

"Nurse Joy, do you have a lost and found box? This is kind of an emergency, and I might need something from it."

"Well, as long as you give it back when you're done, I guess it's okay." She pulled the large cardboard box from underneath the counter. In it were a range of items, from empty Pokéballs to scarves, and hats, which was just what Lyra was looking for. In the box was a plain black baseball cap, which Lyra swiped up, adding it to the pile of clothes on her arm.

"Thanks, Nurse Joy!"

She reentered the videophone room, and Silver looked up at her expectantly.

"If we can't run from them… we might as well join them."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the late update! I'm reevaluating my priorities when it comes to writing, and this story is going at the top of the list because I want it done tbh. Please leave a review! c:<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"My ideas are always good ideas, Silver, despite your complete lack of confidence in them. If it weren't for me, you would've ended up pacing that room until you passed out. Trust me. This is a good idea."

The two trainers were crouched behind a bush, makeshift Team Rocket uniforms on and Pokéballs clenched in their hands. Since leaving the Pokémon Centre, they hadn't heard a single noise- from team Rocket or otherwise.

"Are you sure they were tracking the call, Silver? I mean, you have no idea if that was their intention or not."

"I'm positive. Mars didn't know Ariana worked for dad, since she left before Ariana decided to screw up her life. So she probably was told t track me down, and they probably tracked every single call that Mars made until they pinpointed me."

Lyra made a quiet humming sound in agreement, before staring at the grass below her. It was going to be a long night, she could tell. As she repositioned herself, a beating of wings and loud yelling from above her made her pay attention again.

"This is Proton, from outside the Verdanturf Pokémon Centre. Entrance is secured. They're not getting out this way. Over!"

"Are you sure they were tracking the call now, Lyra?" Silver hissed.

"Okay, so they were! We need to be quiet and listen for an opening, so shut up!" Lyra watched as Proton listened intently to his radio. She recognised him from when she previously dismantled Team Rocket in Johto, but clearly that hadn't made much of a difference- they were still at large.

"Any word from the reconnaissance team?" He asked. Silver inhaled sharply.

"What do you mean, you've lost contact? Find where they are! We need to know their movements during the day! Have they definitely been here?" Proton slammed one of the buttons on his radio, shoving it back in his pocket. Lyra grabbed Silver's wrist, pulling him up.

"This is our chance. Leave it to me," she whispered, and Silver nodded in agreement, letting her go along with her plan for once. "Proton, sir. We're from the recon team."

"Why aren't you in contact with Petrel? He's supposed to be looking after you."

"The radio broke. it must've been faulty," Silver interjected, staring Proton straight in the face.

"Trust Petrel to be handing out broken radios. Well, whatever. You can get it fixed back at base. Are the two trainers inside?"

"Yes, sir. We've had eyes on the building all day. They arrived late afternoon, went to the Battlefield, and then went back inside, where we assume they called with Mars. Times match up almost perfectly, sir."

Proton narrowed his eyes for a moment, surveying the two trainers standing sheepishly in front of him. He took his hat off, ruffling his green hair in exasperation.

"Good." He took the radio from his pocket, yelling into it. "Petrel! Your lousy reconnaissance team has checked in with me. Close off the back entrance I'm going in." He deposited the radio in his pocket, before turning back to Lyra and Silver. "Thanks. I'll put in a good word for you with the boss, and you can be moved from Petrel's team to mine. Wouldn't you much prefer that? What are your names?"

"Connie," Lyra stated, without batting an eyelash.

"And Jason," Silver said.

"Connie and Jason. I'll have you transferred to my team tomorrow morning."

"Thank you, sir."

"No problem. Guard the front. I don't want them escaping."

The pair watched as Proton disappeared into the building before turning to each other. They were out of earshot of the other grunts, which made it easy enough for them to talk.

"What now?" Silver asked, tapping his foot against the grass.

"I have no idea. I genuinely thought we would be found out when we had to give the report."

"Well, it worked. And I'm thankful. I guess your plans are a lot better than I give you credit for."

"We should try to get away now though. Do you think we could Fly down to Rustboro?"

"No. But the Rusturf Tunnel isn't too far from here, so if we move quickly, we can get in there and out the other side before they notice that Connie and Jason are missing."

"Which way?"

Silver started walking, hands stuffed in his pockets, and Lyra followed closely beside him, fingers tying themselves in knots behind her back. When the Rusturf tunnel came into view, so did the grunts that were guarding it.

"Oh great," Silver sighed. "I'll do the talking this time. You look too nervous. Try to calm down or something."

"No, I'm fine. Let me talk. I don't want you saying anything that'll reveal your identity or something." they got closer to the tunnel, and stopped when the Grunts moved in front of the opening.

"Stop! Who are you?"

"We're with Team Rocket," Lyra drawled, stepping forward. "Proton sent us here. Apparently the recon team said the objectives came down here earlier in the day, and we've been sent after them."

"Why you? Why not send us? I mean, we're here and all."

"I don't know. it wasn't my decision to make. But I do know, we have to go down here.""

"Well, they are with us, so… I guess you can come on through."

"Thanks," Lyra said coolly, walking through the gap they made and into the tunnel, Silver following closely behind.

"That was good acting."

"We need to move quickly," Lyra said, ignoring his compliment. "It probably won't be long until we get to Rustboro, right?"

It had been a long time since the sun had set, and trying to navigate their way through the tunnel with only the light from their Pokégear proved to be difficult for Lyra and Silver. A glance at the clock function informed Silver that it was nine pm, and he sighed internally. it would be very, very late by the time they made it to Rustboro.

* * *

><p>The city was completely silent when they arrived. The lights were turned off in all buildings apart from the Pokémon Centre, it's orange roof visible through the dark. Silver made his way through the streets, following the pale glow of the streetlights, with a tired Lyra trudging along behind him.<p>

"The Pokémon Centre is gonna be closed. We're gonna have to sleep on the street."

"Fine with me. We're gonna be cold, though."

The two found an uninhabited corner of the city, curling up. They had no blankets- they had left their bags and all but two of their Pokémon in Verdanturf Town, and they decided between them that Crobat and Dugtrio wouldn't be particularly helpful for body heat. Silver flinched when Lyra leaned closer to him, despite her just trying to get comfy.

"Are you still awake?" Silver asked after a few minutes.

"Yes," came the response.

"I'm really sorry for dragging you into this."

"It's not your fault. I mean, if they weren't such maniacs, you wouldn't be in this mess."

"Fair enough."

"I'm going to give up on the gym challenge for now. I'll probably come back to it someday, when things have calmed down."

"You shouldn't give up on it for my sake, Lyra."

"We came her to get away from your family," she said, squirming until she could turn around to face Silver. "And clearly, they and people who are associated with them know we're here and are still intent on you coming home. I'm not going to jeopardise your safety for something that I want."

Silver turned his head away, uncomfortable at their close proximity to each other. "I… thank you. That means a lot, Lyra. And, I'll come with you when you challenge the rest of the Hoenn League, okay?" He courageously found her hand in the darkness, squeezing it gently.

"Okay." She stared at her knees for a moment, smiling a very small smile. "Goodnight, Silver."

"Night."

* * *

><p>"Ah, here they are! Connie and… Jason, was it? You look different with a hat on, Silver! And my, Lyra you've certainly grown up! How long has it been? Six years? More?"<p>

Lyra strained her eyes open, the harsh sunlight being blocked from her view by a tall figure. After blinking a few times, she realised it was Proton, along with the two grunts they had slipped past at the Rusturf Tunnel. Silver had also woken up, and was on his feet in an instant, Pokéball in his hand.

"Hey, hey! I don't want to fight! If you come quietly, I'll leave your girlfriend here alone."

"She's _not_ my girlfriend! And even if you don't want to fight, I do! Crobat, go!"

"Ugh, you're still just as annoying. I'll send my own out. Crobat!"

The two bat Pokémon floated menacingly in front of their trainers, hissing at each other.

"Aerial Ace!" Silver commanded, and his Crobat flying towards the other with great speed.

"Haze." The mist came in quickly, surrounding Proton's Pokémon. Silver's Crobat couldn't find it's target, and stopped before the cloud.

"Now, Hyper Beam," Proton said, with a flick of his wrist. The orange beam flew out of the haze, hitting Silver's Crobat cleanly and making it land at the red haired trainer's feet. "You're still so _weak_, Silver. You were never particularly gifted when it came to Pokémon. Get him."

Lyra jumped into action then, tossing her singular Pokéball to release Dugtrio and throwing herself in front of Silver.

"You'll have to get through me first!"

"Lyra, honey, your Dugtrio couldn't do anything to my Crobat. And from a search of your room in Verdanturf Town, you don't have any other Pokémon with you!" Proton held up his hand, a Pokéball between each of his fingers, and one between his index finger and thumb. "These are yours, if I'm not mistaken."

Lyra's eyes glanced at his hand, a small frown appearing on her face and disappearing in the same second. The grunts had grabbed Silver in the moment when she was distracted, keeping his hands behind his back.

"Thanks for your cooperation, Silver. And Lyra? I wouldn't try to follow us. It won't end well for you." Proton reached into Silver's pocket, extracting his Pokégear and throwing it on the concrete, effectively breaking it. He grabbed a hold of his Crobat, flying into the air, the grunts using their own Golbat to fly themselves and Silver into the sky.

"Lyra!" Silver called, before they got too far away. His voice was desperate, and Lyra wasn't immediately worried. "Please, help me!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry yet again for the late update! I'm so bad at updating this- i have chapters that are ready to go and all! But yeah, this chapter is a bit shorter because the next one will be longer, I hope you enjoy it anyway! Please leave a review if you enjoyed it! c:<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

Silver had disappeared into the sky all of an hour ago, but Lyra wasn't going to sit still. In fact, she reckoned she couldn't've even if she wanted too. She had taken Team Rocket down before, and even though that was six years ago, she had got a lot stronger and was perfectly capable of doing that again. (Or so she said. She didn't _actually_ know). She had ran back through the Rusturf tunnel and into Verdanturf Town, still wearing her handmade Team Rocket garb. She had picked off the red tape 'R', in the hopes of looking more inconspicuous, but she was still dressed head to toe in black, which made sneaking into the Pokémon Centre a lot harder than she thought.

Lyra cursed her luck- when she reached her room she remembered that she had asked Silver to carry the room key, and therefore she had no way of getting in. She trudged back down to Nurse Joy, who gladly gave her a new one without asking any questions. Lyra unlocked the room, and after closing the door, threw herself angrily on the bed. She covered her face in her arms and allowed herself to sob quietly for all of one minute, before sitting up straight and making a plan of attack. She only had one Pokémon with her- Dugtrio- which was probably the least useful outside of battle. She only had one Pokémon _with_ her, but there had to be another one in this room. When Proton had showed her the stolen Pokéballs, there were only four, and she knew she definitely had brought six to the Hoenn region with her.

Leaping off the bed, Lyra fumbled about on the floor, searching for the missing Pokéball. Sh reached under the bed, but didn't find anything apart from dust, and retracted her hand quickly. The room had been torn apart by Team Rocket, but they had left pretty much everything apart from their Pokémon. Lyra tidied as she searched, folding Silver's clothes back up and stuffing them in his backpack. She did the same with her own clothes, placing them inside her bag. She lifted her signature hat, pulling it on over her pigtails, which she had retied after entering the Pokémon Centre. Her black pumps were pulled off and set on top of everything else, and were replaced by her usual red ones. When Lyra slipped her foot in, however, it was met with the cold exterior of the missing Pokéball, which Lyra reached down to grab.

"It must've fell in there when I was getting the stuff before," she mumbled to herself, slipping her other shoe on. "Alright, let's see who you are! Go!" She tossed the Pokéball, releasing her Ampharos, who bleated happily at the sight of it's trainer. "Am I glad to see you!" She patted it on the head, before returning it to it's Pokéball and packing the rest of her and Silver's stuff up.

She left the Pokémon Centre, returning the room key to Nurse Joy, and carrying her map in front of her. To get out of the region, would need a Pokémon that could fly, and although taking the boat was also a viable option, flying would be about a million times faster. Thankfully for her, Silver's Hoenn League handbook was still in his bag, and she found out that she would need the Fortree City gym badge to legally fly in this region, as well as a Pokémon that could actually leave the ground.

A million thoughts ran through Lyra's head as she walked to Mauville City. Fortree City was the nearest city to Mauville, yes, but it was still probably a day or more away and Lyra really couldn't be affording to waste time. She also needed a Pokémon that could fly, and she wasn't particularly looking forward to finding and catching a Pokémon that could do such a thing. She also needed someone that she actually knew that lived in Hoenn that she could ask how to get out of the region.

Her mind flew over all the people she had met on her journey. She couldn't particularly remember anyone that outright stated they were from Hoenn, but there _was_ someone she had met she was confident was in the region. So first, she would head to Fortree, and then to Mossdeep. That was her plan, and she would stick to it. She had nearly reached Mauville by this point, but was stopped, when some sort of bird flew in front of her, cutting off her path to the city. She held her Pokédex up to it, while the tricoloured bird cawed impatiently.

"_Pelipper, the Water Bird Pokémon. __It protects its young in its beak. It bobs on waves, resting on them on days when the waters are calm."_

"A flying and water type… okay! Ampharos, go!" Lyra threw her Pokéball, the bipedal Pokémon appearing in a flash of light. "Power Gem!"

This one move caused a lot of damage to the opposing Pokémon, and not one for wasting time, Lyra threw a Heal Ball in it's direction. Luckily, the Pokémon stayed in the ball, and Lyra picked it up.

"Alright! This is going to save me a lot of time. I'll just teach you Fly… and we're good to go!" Ampharos made a disapproving snort behind Lyra, and she turned to face it, Pokéball in hand. "Oh, shush. We've already broken about fifteen laws just by being here. We've illegally flown before, and as long as we're quick, no one need know about it. Just till we get to Fortree, okay, Ampharos? After that it'll be… more legal!"

The Light Pokémon snorted again, but Lyra simply returned the Pokémon to it's Pokéball with a shake of her head.

"Okay Pelipper, let's go! Fly me to Fortree!" The water type Pokémon burst from the Pokéball, ready to go. Lyra clambered onto it's back; pointing the vague direction she wanted her newest Pokémon to go. Her map reading skills weren't too bad, thankfully, and she made it to the treetop city with in an hour or so.

The gym was located in the centre of town, and Lyra decided to take it on without thinking twice.

"I'm here to challenge the gym leader!" Lyra announced on her way in, and she saw the gym trainers scurry away as she made her way through the changing doors that was the gym's puzzle. Clearly, her face was still recognisable enough for the trainers to still be scared of her. She arrived at the top of the gym, where Winona stood, ready to battle.

"Welcome, Lyra. We've been awaiting you. You and your Pokémon have caused quite a stir across Hoenn, and we're looking forward to the battle. Let's start right away, shall we?"

Lyra nodded, fierce determination painted clearly on her face. She took her place at the challenger's end of the battlefield, Pokéball in hand.

"This will be a match for the Feather Badge between the Fortree City Gym Leader, Winona, and the challenger, Lyra from New Bark Town! The battle will be over when all four of one trainer's Pokémon are unable to battle! Begin!"

"I'm not taking any chances. We will wipe out all your Pokémon without letting ourselves take a hit. Altaria! Go!"

"I can't let that happen. Ampharos, you're up!"

"You won't win with an electric type. We've put up many defences against them. However, we will let you have the first move."

"Thanks!" Lyra threw her arm out, commanding her Pokémon. "Power Gem!"

Clearly Winona wasn't expecting this move, as her face when Altaria fell was one of shock and disgust. She returned the Pokémon to it's Pokéball, sending out her next Pokémon, a Swellow.

"Thunderbolt!"

"Again! Thunderbolt!"

"Now try Thunder!"

All of Winona's bird fell with one hit, and as she returned Pelipper to it's Pokéball, she yelled over to Lyra.

"You are a lot stronger than anyone else in this region. In fact, you could probably take down the Champion's Pokémon with only a little more effort than you put into this battle. Take the Feather Badge. You deserve it." Lyra snatched the badge from the cushion, putting it inside the badge case she had received back in Slateport City. "Good luck with the rest of your battles."

"Thanks."

She scurried out of the Gym, bypassing the Pokémon Centre to continue on. That was the shortest time she had ever been in a gym, and she wanted to spend as little time in Fortree as possible. Ampharos wasn't harmed, and Pelipper hadn't left it's Pokéball, so she decided to fly to Mossdeep, where her next destination was.

Lyra was completely unfamiliar with this city, and locating the house she wanted proved to be a bit of a problem. However, with a good bit of asking around, she found the building she was looking for, and knocked curtly on the door. She heard footsteps coming down the hall, and the door opened quickly.

"Ah, you're here!" The man exclaimed, before his face turned into an expression of confusion. "Sorry, I was expecting someone else. Can I help you?"

"Um, hi. My name is Lyra. We met before, in Kanto? You are Steven Stone, right?"

"I am. Yes, I vaguely recall. You were the one I talked to about Latias, correct?" Lyra nodded. "Why don't you come inside? You won't be able to stay for long, though. As I said, I'm expecting someone."

"Thanks. Don't worry, this won't take long." Steven moved aside to let the brunette enter his house, and lead her through to the sitting room, which was covered in papers.

"I've heard a lot about you recently. I was expecting to see you soon, but not at my house! The league would've been a much better place for us to meet again, but oh well. What's troubling you?" He tidied as he spoke, signalling for Lyra to sit down in the space he had just created for her.

"I saw a battle of yours in the Pokémon World Tournament not that long ago, and I was wondering if you could tell me anything about Mega Evolution. My… friend is in trouble, and I think that it might be the only way I can save him." Steven sat down opposite her, crossing his legs.

"Mega Evolution is a tricky process, and only those who are exceptionally strong trainers can use it. However…" He breathed in, sighing slightly. "Well, I know you're a strong trainer, so I'll gladly tell you about it. In fact, give me a moment. I can give you something." Steven shot up, running out of the room and returning only moments later with a few strange rocks in his hand.

"This here is called a Key Stone," he explained, handing the rock over to her. "It allows Mega Evolution to take place. This is held by the trainer."

"Okay…" Lyra turned the rock over in her hand, taking note of the markings on the surface.

"And these are Mega Stones. They are held by the Pokémon, and with a chain reaction from activating the Key Stone; it causes the Pokémon to Mega Evolve. It sounds simple, but there are a lot of scientists both here and in the Kalos region that are working on it. Apparently, there is a lot more to it than anyone has thought about it."

"Are there specific Mega Stones for specific Pokémon?" Lyra asked, her eyes scanning the stones in front of her.

"Indeed. I am willing to give you one of these, as a present. I have no intention to train any of the Pokémon that use them, so you can have one. I'll be able to find another for my collection another day," he laughed, rubbing his head and causing his hair to stick up more than it already was. "I have one for Gengar, Ampharos, Venusaur and Houndoom here."

"Wait, Ampharos can Mega Evolve? I'll take that one then! A lot of my Pokémon have been stolen, and Ampharos is one of the only ones I have with me, so if it could Mega Evolve, I would definitely be able to help my friend!" Lyra rambled, grabbing the stone.

"Look after that Ampharosite. It's a rare stone," Steven explained with a nod.

"Thank you so much. I really wish I could repay you in some way, but this is kinda a life and death situation, so it might have to wait."

"No, no, I don't need anything. Just make sure you come back and give me a good battle, okay?"

"I will!"

Steven showed the younger girl out, who thanked him copious amounts of times. It was sunset by the time she left, and she called her Pelipper out to fly out of the region.

"If you fly southeast from here, you should reach Johto within a few hours. Good luck with rescuing your friend."

"Thank you again!" Lyra called, as she flew into the sky.

* * *

><p>Silver was having what he would later describe as the most unpleasant experience of his life. Not only had be been literally dragged across to Kanto from the Hoenn Region, he was defenceless, apart from his Crobat, which had fainted in his battle against Proton. He landed in Saffron City mid afternoon, and was immediately ushered into the Silph Co. building, escorted by two grunts and Proton into the lift.<p>

"Where are you taking me? Why are we at Silph Co.?" He asked, elbowing one of the guards in the side to get rid of him.

"To see the boss. Why else would you be here?" Proton replied, turning to face the redhead with a smirk.

"I don't want to see him. He's done enough."

"You have no choice. Unless… no, never mind. You'll just do as you're told, Silver. As the son of Giovanni, you're all set to become the head of the company. The boss wants to retire soon, and you know he wants another male to take over."

"I don't want to. I thought I made that clear when I left when I was eleven. Or did I not make that clear enough?"

"Silver, we all know, what you think of the company. But frankly, you have no choice. Archer, Petrel and I don't want you in charge- we all think Ariana would be a better choice. But the boss wants what he wants, and he'll get it." The teal haired man turned to Silver. "And we're willing to take some… precautions to get you where we want you. But I'll let your father explain that."

He turned back to face the silver doors of the lift, and Silver scowled at his back. The lift stopped with a chime, the metal doors sliding open.

"Don't tell me my dad is here," Silver said, pointing to the wooden door in front of him. "That trainer Red defeated him here years ago!"

"And you think that made any difference?" Proton drawled sarcastically. "We've had control of this building for years. Sure, it still manufactures products for trainers, and the lobby is open to the public, but that's just to keep up appearances. Team Rocket owns this building!"

"You disgust me."

"Brilliant. Do you think I care? I've brought you, some annoying hormonal teenage boy, so I'll be getting a promotion. Your opinions don't matter to anyone in this building. Now go."

Silver was practically shoved into the room in front of him. Windows covered the entire of the back wall, and from the view, Silver could tell they were on the top floor of the building. The room was sparsely decorated, with only a desk in the middle, and a chair sitting in front of it. Silver doubted this chair usually made an appearance in the room. The door closed behind him, and the man sitting behind the desk spun around in his chair to face him.

"Silver. Take a seat."

Silver stalked across the room, throwing the chair behind him and sitting on it. He crossed his arms and legs, showing his father he was not here for a friendly chat.

"How have you been? It's a shame we've lost contact for so long. I've rather missed having you around the house. Now Ariana has moved out, and Mars is in Sinnoh, I only have my Pokémon to keep me company."

No response.

"Anyway, I'm sure you know why you're here," Giovanni said, leaning across the desk slightly. "I plan to retire at the end of the financial year, and I need a heir ready to take my position. I have chosen you, Silver, as you have showed the most promise out of any of my children. I also want to make some strong connections with other companies in the region, and that is why you'll be marrying the delightful Crystal. Her parents run the Safari Zone here in Kanto. I can tell you that once she heard of your return, she was most excited. I'm sure she'll be here at the end of the day. You can have some time with her to… make her acquaintance."

Silver was silent again, his eyes boring into the top of his father's head.

"Come now. I know this isn't ideal- obviously you'd have more time to get to know each other, but Silver, if you'd cooperated-"

"No," Silver said flatly.

"What?" Giovanni sat back in his chair, folding his hands in front of him.

"I don't want to take over Team Rocket. Why do you insist on calling it a 'company' anyway? We both know what's going here- you want me to take over your crime organization so you can live a cushy life with all the money you've made from committing crimes the last however many years! What about my mother? Was she one of your crimes? I know you killed her, Giovanni. Tell me! What happened to her?"

"Do not address me as Giovanni," the older man said, his voice dangerously low. "Secondly, your mother died in a car accident. You know this. Don't insinuate anything, son."

"I am not your son!" Silver yelled, standing up from his chair. "I hope you rot." He walked towards to door, but before he made it the whole way there, Giovanni spoke up again, his tone softer and quieter. It scared Silver- he had never heard his father talk like this.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Silver. You wouldn't want anything to happen to your friend, would you?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Silver asked, not turning around out of fear.

"Your friend, Lyra. We have her in our custody. She didn't come quietly, and she's in the basement. Not that I'm going to let you see her. She's our… leverage for you."

"What the hell? How did you get her? What are you going to do with her?" Silver spun round, his hair swinging across his shoulders.

"If you don't do what we ask… well, she'll bear the brunt of it."

"Don't you dare touch her!"

"We won't. Meet with Crystal today, and she'll be moved to a more secure location, where she's safer. Marry her on Friday, and we'll let her go free, unharmed. But if you do anything to disobey our plans, she might not make it out of this building alive."

"You're bluffing," he whispered, his face paling.

"No, we're not," Giovanni said, pressing a button on his desk. One of the windows blacked out, and then switched to a screen where Silver saw Lyra, her hands tied together, slumped in the corner of the room.

"… fine. I'll do it."

"I knew you'd come around.

* * *

><p>"Silver!" A high pitched voiced rang, and Silver turned to see Crystal bounding towards him. She looked so similar to what he remembered- royal blue hair, and crystalline eyes, like her name described. She was the same age as him, and in a change from all those years ago, he was now taller than her.<p>

"Uh. Hi." There. With two words, Lyra was safe, for now.

They met in the drawing room of Giovanni's mansion, where Silver had been sitting on the sofa for the last forty minutes. He hadn't moved a muscle in theta time, worrying about Lyra. Crystal left her bag by the door, coming over to sit beside him.

"Don't you have something to give me?" She asked, holding her hand out.

"Sure." Silver fished in his pocket, pulling out a silver ring that his father had entrusted him with. He would rather have eaten it than given it to Crystal, but he didn't have much of a choice.

"Thank you! It looks wonderful! Did you pick it out yourself?

"Yeah," He lied, becoming more and more annoyed with the girl's enthusiasm every moment. With Lyra it was different- he was used to it, and she was well, Lyra.

"You aren't being particularly talkative today, Silvy." He winced at the pet name. "Is everything okay?"

"I'm just tired," he lied again, aware that the room was probably bugged.

"Well, anyway. Are you all ready for Friday? Your dad told me you have a really nice suit, and we'll be in the big office space upstairs!"

"Yeah. Can't wait." Crystal was silent for a moment, and Silver felt that he needed to at least pretend he cared about her. "So, have you um… got a dress?"

"Well of course! I'm not letting you see it until the big day though!"

"Oh. Cool."

"Come on, Silver. Let's go somewhere more private. I'd like to talk some more."

"I'd rather stay here." Silver said, causing Crystal to pout.

"You're no fun."

"Yeah, I guess."

"I'm leaving. I'll see you on Friday, okay?"

"Fine."

"Try to get some sleep between now and then, okay?"

"I'll try."

"Toodles!"

No matter how much Silver wanted to, he knew that there was absolutely no way he was going to sleep a wink between now and Friday.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Look at me, uploading on time! Well, near enough. Anyway, I have figured out that this will be ten chapters long, so it won't be long until it's all done! I'm working on finalising chapter ten and then ill be all done ;; hope you enjoy, and please leave a review! (also, Steven Stone is my guilty pleasure and thats why i wrote him in. im trash please excuse me)<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**Just a warning, this chapter is going to chop and change perspectives a but, so you might want to concentrate! There will be page breaks between each change though, marking where they are.**

* * *

><p>"H-hey! Get off me!"<p>

Lyra was thrust into an ugly cell, her hands tied with a scratchy rope behind her back. She had no idea where the Team Rocket members had appeared from, but they had got her as soon as she had landed in Johto, and she was immediately flown to Silph Co. in Saffron City. She originally had no idea why she was here, but upon pondering it, she came to the conclusion that this was one of Team Rocket's many bases.

"We're not taking your Pokémon- we don't want them. But there's no way you'll be able to get out of this cell without them, so we've tied your hands. You be good, and we'll consider letting you go." Petrel had been the one responsible for capturing her, and now there were only a few metal bars separating them. Lyra shot him a glare.

She presumed Silver was here as well, but with no way of contacting him, she had no idea. He could be anywhere- this wasn't the only base Team Rocket had. She slumped against the wall, trying desperately to think of some way out of the room. It was early morning on Thursday when she arrived, and she was guessing by now, it was about five am. The most logical thing to do was sleep to conserve her energy, but that wasn't happening no matter how much she wanted it to.

Somehow she managed to drift off, and was rudely awoken roughly five hours later by one of the grunts.

"We've had enough waiting for you to wake up. Get up, you're being transferred."

"To where?" Lyra asked politely.

"The boss is bargaining with the boy, and you're his leverage. He was promised your safety if he cooperated and met with his fiancé, so you're being moved to a more comfortable… suite."

"Silver doesn't want to marry Crystal, you know."

"We're well aware," the grunt spat. "But he will, to protect you. The boss says you can go free if he gets married tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes," the grunt said exasperatedly. "Are you deaf?"

"No. Just confirming facts."

"Good. Well, this is it."

The man pulled a key card from his pocket, unlocking the door. The room looked exactly like a hotel room, with a cream carpet and matching bedspread. There was a bed, which Lyra was immediately glad of. Against the wall stood a dressing table, and a large mirror was balanced on top of it. A push in the back propelled Lyra into the room, and the door closed behind her with a mutter of 'don't try anything.'

As if she would try anything.

* * *

><p>Friday morning came a lot sooner than Silver would've liked, and he was shoved into a suit at dawn, and dragged up to the office where his wedding would be taking place. Half the room was already packed, with Team Rocket grunts and the executives. Ariana sat angrily beside him, one leg flung lazily over the other. The other side of the room was filled with people who he presumed were member's of Crystal's family.<p>

The room broke into applause when Giovanni entered, and if Silver didn't know better, he would've thought his father was the one getting married. A priest followed soon after, and five minutes later came Crystal's mother. Silver was pulled to his feet by his father, and then the wooden doors opened, and Crystal entered, accompanied by her father.

She did look nice in her dress, Silver had to admit, but this didn't make him care for her any more. When she reached the end of the aisle, she stood on her tiptoes and gave Silver a kiss on the kiss on the cheek. He looked pointedly at the ground, fixing what he described as the 'glorified napkin' around his neck.

"Dearly beloved," the priest began, "we are gathered here today..."

* * *

><p>When Lyra woke up, sun was streaming through the window, alerting her that it was morning. <em>Friday,<em> she thought, her brain reminding her that it was Silver's wedding day. She needed to figure out how to get out of this room before Silver had to sign the papers, but she was ultimately stumped for ideas. It was silent outside the room- all of the previous day she had heard people walking about and talking to other Team Rocket members, but now there was no one. She assumed they had all gone to the wedding, and that this would be her only chance to break free. She sat down in front of the mirror, looking at her sad reflection in the glass. Narrowing her eyes, she stared closer at herself, before jumping to her feet. That was it! She could use the mirror.

Her hands still tied, she used her knee to push the stool aside, before taking on a stance not dissimilar to that of a Hitmonlee. Lyra kicked the mirror, the glass shattering across the dressing table. _Seven years of bad luck for me,_ she though, picking up one of the larger pieces in her hands, and attempting to cut through the rope binding her hands together.

"Come on…" she whispered, accidentally nicking her skin. Blood spilled out from the cut, staining her hand, and dripping onto her shorts. Finally, the rope loosened, and Lyra dropped the piece of mirror, shaking herself free from the rope. She dug through her pocket, picking up Dugtrio's Pokéball.

"Let's go! We have a very special event to attend."

Dugtrio tunneled under the carpet, making it's way to the other side of the door, signaled by its chirp. Lyra slid into the tunnel, crawling up the other side.

"Nice job. Now, return!"

There was a map of the building pasted to the wall across from her room, and Lyra nervously ventured out into the corridor to grab it. She had no clue where anything in this building was, but scanned the map for clues. On the penultimate floor, there was a room marked 'event space', and Lyra took her bets that that would be where Silver was. However, on the floor above her, there was a room marked 'Pokéball Room', which she deemed a worthy spot to stop off in.

There were stairs just around the corner from where she was positioned, and taking the map with her, Lyra sprinted up the stairs onto the next floor. It also seemed abandoned, but not taking any chances, Lyra tiptoed along the floor, reading every sign on the door. The Pokéball room wasn't too far along, and she kicked open the door, finding it empty of all people. Of course, there were shelves wall to floor of Pokéballs, and it frustrated Lyra to think that she would have to search every single one of them for her Pokémon. She walked to the end of the room, where a wide window let a lot of natural light into the room. On the windowsill messily sat nine Pokéballs, the number that she and Silver combined were missing. She threw one of them, releasing an all too familiar Gengar.

"I'm so happy to see you!" She cried, hugging the ghost the best she could. "Have you been okay?" The Pokémon grumbled in response, but it didn't look too mad, so she patted it on the head before retuning it to the Pokéball. She then pocketed the rest of the Pokéballs; running out of the room and for the lift she read was at the end of the corridor.

* * *

><p>Silver stood nervously at the front, weighing up his options. He had managed to stash his Crobat's Pokéball in his shoe in case he needed to make a speedy exit, but he hadn't had a chance to heal it, so it wouldn't be of much use to him in battle. He <em>could<em> marry Crystal, and then divorce her after he found Lyra again. He also could just say no when it came to the 'I do's, and risk getting himself and Lyra killed. As time wore on, this seemed like the best option to him. Either that, or just jumping out the window in front of him.

"Should anyone here present know of any reason that this couple should not be joined in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace," the priest announced, and Silver found himself praying that at that moment someone would yell something, and lo and behold, the door at the back of the room swung open with a bang.

"I have a problem!" A female voice yelled, and everyone in the room turned round to see who it was. Silver's jaw involuntarily dropped, and then his face lit up.

"Lyra!"

"The one and only. Oh, that's a bit rude, don't you think?" Lyra commented to the six grunts that had tossed their Pokémon at her. "You should treat your wedding guests with more respect. Go! Ampharos!"

"You really think that your Ampharos could take down all of Team Rocket?" Giovanni asked, rising from his seat and walking down the aisle to behind where the grunts stood.

"Well, for a start, I don't just have Ampharos. But yeah, I reckon it could!"

"Silver, I demand you tell me what is going on!" Crystal said, stamping her foot on the carpet.

"She's come to rescue me," he explained simply.

"What do you mean, rescue you?"

"Uh, she's here to prevent me from getting married. Newsflash, Crystal. I never wanted to marry you."

"You gave me a ring!"

"I didn't want to give it to you," he pointed out, folding his arms. "Just watch this. She's a really great trainer."

At the other end of the room, Lyra was standing fiddling with something attached to her hat.

"What are you doing, insolent girl? First you break out of your cell-"

"It wasn't very hard. I would improve your security."

"-and then you take too long to battle. Grunts, attack her!"

"Sir!"

"I've got it!" Lyra exclaimed. At this point, anyone who was still sitting had vacated their seats and moved to the other end of the room, standing behind Silver and Crystal. "Alright! Beyond evolution! Mega Evolve! Let's go, Ampharos!"

She reached up and pressed the Key Stone she had chosen to attach to the bow on her hat, causing a strong white light to envelop Ampharos. Giovanni covered his eyes with his arm, while Lyra smirked at the Pokémon in front of her. When the light faded, Mega Ampharos was left; it's coat shining from the process.

"Thunderbolt!"

The attack shocked all of the opposing Pokémon, causing them to faint. Lyra marvelled at Ampharos's new power- she would have to make a habit of using Mega Evolution. She ran down the side of the room, avoiding Giovanni, and ran straight to Silver. She fished around in her pocket for the Pokéballs, handing them over to him. He took them, shoving them carelessly in his pockets. Suddenly, Silver leaned down and taking her face in his hands, kissed her quickly on the lips.

"You're amazing," he said, pulling back.

"I know," she replied, smiling at the redhead. "Let's take them down, okay?" He nodded vigorously in reply, and over his shoulder, Lyra spotted Crystal. Her face was an expression of confusion, fear and anger, and Lyra couldn't help but laugh.

"Typhlosion, go!"

"Return, Ampharos. Meganium, you're up!"

"You two just don't know when to quit, do you? I guess I'm going to have to battle your myself." Giovanni lifted a Pokéball from his belt, enlarging it, and tossing it in the direction of the two younger trainers. Ariana got to her feet, standing beside her father, who pushed her away. "No. This is my battle." The redhead rolled her eyes, sitting down again by the side of the aisle. "Now, Nidoking, Earth Power."

"I'm not going to waste any time!" Lyra yelled. "Meganium, use Frenzy Plant!"

"And Typhlosion, Blast Burn!"

The explosion caused by these two moves had not just enough power to knock out Nidoking, but created a thick black smoke that filled the room.

"Let's go," Lyra hissed, grabbing Silver's hand and running out the way she had come in. They made it to the lift, choking, and slide inside, Silver slamming the button for the bottom floor.

"Where are we going?"

"Home."

"What do you mean? I have no home," Silver scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"We can go to my house. I'm sure my mom will let you stay for a while. And then… I don't know, we can go somewhere else. Where Team Rocket won't bother us."

"What, so you're saying you'll like… run away with me?"

"Pretty much," Lyra said casually. "But first, we have to get out of here."

Silver nodded, and as soon as the lift hit the ground floor and the doors opened, the two ran out of the building, startling the tourists gathered in the lobby.

"I don't have a Pokémon that can fly," Silver pointed out.

"You can take this," Lyra said, handing over Pelipper's Pokéball and releasing Togekiss. "We just need to go."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I apologise again for the wait, but here it is! I always like writing femtags as badass characters that can totally beat you up. The next chapter will be the last chapter, and then I'll be moving on from soulsilvershipping for a while (a while. i can never give them up). But yeah, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please leave a review!<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

Cherrygrove Town was beautiful in late autumn- the cherry blossom trees that bloomed almost year round were replaced with the falling of leaves, and the water in the lake was still and calm. No one remembered this town existed, so it was the most peaceful town in all of Johto. Lyra and Silver landed in the town that fateful Friday, disrupting the peace that the town had grown accustomed to.

"Why here? Why not just land right outside your house?" Silver asked, returning Pelipper to it's Pokéball and handing it back to Lyra.

"I want to walk for a bit. Maybe we can… talk about stuff."

"Great," Silver huffed. He knew what was coming- the inquiry. Lyra started to walk towards her home, Silver trudging along in silence behind her. The walked like this for a few minutes- Lyra leading, and Silver following, mumbling to himself.

"So. Are you okay?" Lyra said, turning round to talk to him. The were about half way down the route now, and Lyra had stopped near the side so they could have a conversation. Silver paused for a moment before answering.

"No," he sighed truthfully.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yes and no. I mean… I don't want to bore you with all the details, but I think it would be good to get some stuff off my chest."

"Go ahead whenever you're ready. I'm all ears."

Silver slumped to the ground, and Lyra sat beside him, not wanting to make him feel any more uncomfortable than he already was. She avoided looking at him as much as possible- for her, eyes staring at her was off putting, and she didn't want to make Silver feel the same way.

"Well, you know a lot of it. Like… the whole 'the leader of Team Rocket is my father' thing, right?"

"Right."

"Well… he wants- no, wanted- me to take over the company. He calls it a company so that they can operate legally. Anyway, he plans to retire at the end of the year, and as an 'heir' he wanted me to be in charge next. So, he was going tot rain me up, and while he was at it, marry me off to Crystal. Her parents run the Safari Zone in the west. I didn't want to marry her because of… well, lots of reasons. I don't want any part of Team Rocket, not after what they did to this region, not after what they did to…you." His voice harshened and then immediately softened again, his eyes staring at the floor. Lyra hummed in understanding, words still forming in her head.

"Anyway, they said that if I didn't marry her, they would kill you- well, they didn't say that, but it was kinda implied. And that if I did, you would be able to go free. And that's when I learned they had captured you, too. So I agreed, if only to protect you."

"Silver, you didn't have to do that! We would've got out okay!"

"And look how well that turned out," he quipped, laughing bitterly.

"We may not be in the best shape, but we did it. Anyway, I'm interrupting. Go on."

"Thanks. Well, after that, I had to meet with Crystal and give her a ring. I'm not sure if she was actually into me or whatever, but she seemed pretty happy. I hope she's okay. I wouldn't want anything to happen to her."

"Mhm."

The wind blew across the route, causing the grass to sway to the left. A few more leaves fell of the trees, gathering in piles at their bases and scattering across the path. The two trainers sat silently, neither knowing what to day to the other. Both of them knew exactly what the other wanted to say, but neither of them wanted to be the one that went first. So instead, Lyra took Silver's larger hand in her own, putting her other free hand over the top. He smiled down at her, in his unusual way, and no words needed to be said between them. They both _knew_, and they didn't want to spoil the moment by saying something wrong.

"We should go." Silver hauled himself to his feet, holding his hand out to help Lyra up.

"We don't have to," Lyra retorted, refusing to take his hand.

"Come _on_, Lyra. I thought you wanted to go."

"I do. I want to get out of this region, but… not yet, And besides, where are we going to go?"

"You literally live five minutes away from here," Silver pointed out, tilting his head in the direction of New Bark Town. "We could at least get into the warm. And look, it's about to rain."

"Ugh, fine," Lyra said, putting her hand in Silver's and hauling herself up.

* * *

><p>Lyra took comfort in the winds of New Bark Town. Their town sign took pride in having the winds of a new beginning, and the soft breezes that blew in from Kanto always reminded Lyra of home. Of course, New Bark Town was her home, but when she was travelling in Kanto and felt the breeze against her face, she couldn't help but be reminded of the quaint little town she had grown up in.<p>

Lyra's house stood unchanged from the way she'd left it only a month ago. She could see her mother inside, just about, and the orange glow from the window was inviting to her.

"Come on," she encouraged, dragging Silver up the steps and onto the porch. She knocked once, twice, three times on the door, and Silver could hear the shuffling of slippers coming down the hallway.

"Lyra!" Her mother greeted, opening the door to her. "You look a mess. No offense, honey. And…" she peered around her daughter's shoulder. "Who is this?"

"Uh… I'll explain inside. I'm pretty cold, so… yeah. Can we come in?"

"Of course!" She stood aside to let the two teenagers into the house, before closing the door behind her. Silver mumbled a 'thank you' at her on the way past, ambling up the hall behind Lyra, who immediately flung herself onto the sofa in the living room, crossing her legs underneath her. Silver perched awkwardly beside her, still feeling uncomfortable in his suit.

"So… this is Silver! He was my rival on my journey, and… yeah."

"Is this the boy you ran off to Hoenn with?"

"Yes," Silver interjected before Lyra even had a chance to open her mouth. "It's nice to meet you."

"And you. Lyra, can you please go and get changed? You look like you were almost murdered. And wash that cut! And Silver, you look really tired. Maybe a nap would be good? I'll get some food on. There's a spare bedroom upstairs, Lyra can show you where it is."

Silver mumbled his thanks yet again, and Lyra led him out of the room and upstairs. He noted the homeliness that was in the air- it was so different than his home. Not that it was really what he would describe as a home; more of a place where he lived, which were two very different things in his opinion.

"You're lucky you have a home. And a parent that cares about you," he said, avoiding looking at the brunette.

"I only have one caring parent though. Dear only knows where my dad is," she replied, glancing at the large collection of photos hanging at the top of the stairs.

"Oh, I didn't mean-"

"No. It's fine. I don't really mind. I never really knew him, so I can't really miss him, you get me? Anyway, your situation is like a million times worse, so I shouldn't even be talking. You should sleep, by the way. My mom said so, and what she says goes here." She gave a nervous giggle, twisting the end of her pigtail around her finger.

"Sure."

"The room's over there. Second on the left."

"Thanks."

As Silver turned to leave, Lyra noted that their conversation was a lot more one-sided than usual- it was almost akin to some of their earliest conversations. Clearly, there was something still weighing on Silver's mind, but of course, Lyra had no way of knowing what it was.

She took a quick shower, being careful to avoid soap getting in contact with the gash on her hand. She bandaged the aforementioned wound up with a piece of cloth from the medicine cabinet, tying it neatly in a bow and admiring her handiwork. Putting on a fresh set of pyjamas, Lyra padded downstairs, taking up the position she had been in before on the sofa.

"So…" her mother said, sidling into the room. "Are you two… a thing?"

"No!" Lyra protested, shaking her head furiously. "Well… maybe. Kinda? In the future. I guess."

"You can tell me, you know."

"I know," Lyra sighed, "but… well, it's complicated. He's had a bad few months, and by few months I mean whole life, but especially the past few months. He had an arranged marriage, but I stopped that, in my usual, champion of Johto way!" She glanced up at her mother, who wore an expression of pure shock.

"Y'know, I'm not even gonna ask. You do you, I guess. Well, go and get your mystery redheaded ex-rival, travel buddy, boyfriend, whatever. Dinner's ready."

"Mom!" Lyra protested, stomping up the stairs.

She knocked on the door of the room Silver had gone into, waiting for a moment to see if he replied. When no sound came, she knocked again, whispering his name at the end. She heard a creaking from the other side of the door, and relaxed slightly against the wall.

"What?" Silver asked, opening the door. His hair was tousled and it was clear to Lyra that he had just woken up from whatever power nap he was having. Lyra let out an intimidated squeak before talking again.

"Dinner's ready," she managed, before turning sharply and escaping.

* * *

><p>Lyra and her mother were halfway through their dinner when Silver finally appeared, sliding into the chair at the end of the table, where a plate was set out for him. He poked the food around the plate before actually deciding to attempt to eat it. Lyra stole glances at him, checking if he was actually eating.<p>

"You're unnerving me."

"Sorry."

"I'll go clean up. You bring your plate in when you're done, Silver," Lyra's mother said, using it as a convenient excuse to escape the tense room.

"Silver… what is wrong? You were fine earlier, but now you're all… like this!"

"Nothing's wrong. Well, nothing that wasn't wrong from before, anyway."

"Is there anything… you're not telling me? I mean, you don't actually have to tell me anything at all, but y'know. I was wondering."

"There's one thing. But… I'll tell you when I feel ready, okay?" Silver bowed his head toward the table slightly, before deciding he was done with his meal. He brought the plate into the kitchen, returning to his seat.

"I have a question for you," Lyra started, leaning slightly across the table to him.

"Shoot."

"You said you wanted to leave. Like… go on a holiday, or _leave_ leave. Because, well… I'm okay with both. Just putting that out there." She gave a nervous laugh at the end, looking up at Silver expectantly.

"Leave leave. I want to get as far from this region as possible."

"How about Kalos?"

"What?"

"Kalos. It's like, on the other side of the world. The weather there is pretty much the same as it is here, and it would be pretty easy to get to. There's a lot of research going on into Mega Evolution there, and I think I'd like to check that out."

"Sounds good."

"What?" Now it was Lyra's turn to be confused.

"That sounds good. When can we leave?"

"Are you serious? I didn't think you'd be this enthusiastic."

"Well, I am. I want to get out of this region as fast as possible, and I've never heard of Kalos, so I reckon it's a good choice."

"Okay. Okay! I'll try and book ferry tickets as soon as I can."

"Great. Thank you, Lyra."

"No problem." She offered him a small smile, which he returned in his own, awkward way.

* * *

><p>"You're leaving already? But… you only just got home!"<p>

"I'm aware, but… well, I want to go to Kalos. And I want to look after Silver. And he's definitely going to Kalos, so it's like… killing two Pidgey with one stone, as you would stay."

"Lyra… you've been to three regions. Is that not even enough for you?"

"No! I want to travel, see the world! I want to become champion in as many places as I can. I love battling, mom, you should know that!"

"I do, I do. Well… since you've got your heart set on it, there's no point in me saying no. Will you… will you come back?" Her voice was filled with apprehension, and Lyra tried her best to produce a comforting smile.

"Of course. I'm not going to just abandon you here!"

"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath. "You know I love you, Lyra, honey?"

"I know. I love you too, mom." Lyra moved towards her mother, wrapping her arms around her neck.

"When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow."

"Stay safe, Lyra, okay?"

"I will, mom."

* * *

><p>"Look at that tower! It's <em>huge<em>!"

"I do have eyes, Lyra. I'm perfectly capable of looking."

"Oh, shut up."

Lyra dragged the redheaded boy through the streets of Lumiose, through back alleys and side streets that she swore were shortcuts. They'd been in the country less than a day, and Lyra had already won her first gym badge, which she pinned in pride of place on her jacket. Silver, as usual, took a supporting role, offering her help just as he had done in Hoenn.

"Silver."

"What?"

"I've been calling your name for the last minute, but you didn't respond."

"Oh. Sorry. What did you want?"

"Are we like… gonna find somewhere to stay? No offence, but if we plan to stay in Kalos even semi-long term, I do not want to sponge off the Pokémon Centre forever."

"Are you suggesting we get a place together?" Silver asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Kinda."

"Sure," he replied nonchalantly, sticking his hands in his jean's pockets.

"Cool. We can start looking tomorrow. I need to get some rest."

"I thought we weren't sponging off the Pokémon Centre?"

"We're not. Just a couple of days. And there's like three different Pokémon Centres in this city, so we'll be fine."

"You are such hard work, Lyra."

"That is _not_ true. I'm actually very easy to get along with."

"Whatever."

* * *

><p>"This is the one!" Lyra proclaimed as soon as she stepped over the threshold into an apartment just off Hibernal Avenue. Silver rolled her eyes, conveniently ignoring her. She had said a similar thing about every apartment they had checked out so far.<p>

This one was nicer than the other ones though, Silver forced himself to admit. It had two bedrooms, and a living room, and was decorated not too fancily. Silver guessed that it was new, and at the price of 7,000 PokéYen per month, it was well within their price range.

"I guess it'll do."

"Is that a 'yes', Silver?"

"Yes."

"Good! We'll take it, then."

* * *

><p>"You know you're supposed to carry me into the house?" Lyra said, raising her eyebrows suggestively and nudging Silver in the sides.<p>

"That's for if you're married."

"Well, whatever. I think you should do it anyway."

"I'm not lifting you anywhere."

"Please?" Lyra asked, elongating the 'e'.

"No."

"You're so mean, Silver," she pouted, puffing her cheeks out.

Silver walked into the apartment, leaving Lyra standing outside. She followed him inside, glaring at him.

"You look ridiculous."

"You always look ridiculous!"

"You're awful at comebacks, Lyra."

"I hate you. You ruined all the fun of going into a house!"

"I love you."

"You're such an- wait. What?"

"I love you," Silver reiterated, looking down at his shoes.

"You're such an _idiot_."

"How is that a good response in any wa-"

He was cut off by Lyra's lips against his, and when he looked down at her, her eyes were shut tight, and her hands were clenched against his chest. He closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around her waist, and pulling her closer into him. She slowly pulled away from him, her cheeks tinted with pink.

"I love you too."

* * *

><p><em>AN: Sappiest ending possible! I've wrote and rewrote this chapter like ten times, but I'm pretty much happy with the way it is now. Thank you to everyone who's reading this, and an extra special thank you to champion lyra, who has been reviewing every chapter. You're really great and thank you for your support the whole way through this! As for what's next from me, I'll be doing another HoennChampion thing (im so predictable), a multichaptered IkariShipping thing, and then another SoulSilver thing. I'm boring sorry. Anyway, this AN has got hella long, so thank you again for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! c:<em>


End file.
